In 1543 Marcantonio Michiel described "a little picture ... of an Our Lady, half length, who gives milk to the little boy, coloured by the hand of Leonardo da Vinci, a work of great power and highly finished." Leonardo noted on a drawing that he had begun “two Virgin Maries” in late 1478, and an inventory of his studio written in 1482 mentioned 2 paintings of “Our Lady,” 1 of which was (depending on translation) either “almost finished, in profile” or “finished, almost in profile.” Some experts have concluded that he left it unfinished and 1 of his apprentices, perhaps Giovanni Antonio Boltraffio or Marco d'Oggiono. Leonardo's metalpoint drawing of a young womans's face, which may have been a preparatory sketch, seems to have been used as an exemplum for teaching students in his studio. Apparently Leonardo took the picture with him to Venice in 1500. Prince Alberico XII di Belgioioso bought the painting from Giuseppe Ro in 1784, the earliest secure date in its provenance, and at his death in 1813 it passed to the Litta family of Milano, Count Antonio Litta, a former ambassador to Russia, sold it to czar Aleksandr II in 1865, and it has been in the Hermitage Museum ever since.
In 1543 Marcantonio Michiel described "a little picture ... of an Our Lady, half length, who gives milk to the little boy, coloured by the hand of Leonardo da Vinci, a work of great power and highly finished." Leonardo noted on a drawing that he had begun “two Virgin Maries” in late 1478, and an inventory of his studio written in 1482 mentioned 2 paintings of “Our Lady,” 1 of which was (depending on translation) either “almost finished, in profile” or “finished, almost in profile.” Some experts have concluded that he left it unfinished and 1 of his apprentices, perhaps Giovanni Antonio Boltraffio or Marco d'Oggiono. Leonardo's metalpoint drawing of a young womans's face, which may have been a preparatory sketch, seems to have been used as an exemplum for teaching students in his studio. Apparently Leonardo took the picture with him to Venice in 1500. Prince Alberico XII di Belgioioso bought the painting from Giuseppe Ro in 1784, the earliest secure date in its provenance, and at his death in 1813 it passed to the Litta family of Milano, Count Antonio Litta, a former ambassador to Russia, sold it to czar Aleksandr II in 1865, and it has been in the Hermitage Museum ever since.
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