Leonardo Da Vinci: Painter at the Court of Milan at National Gallery, London on artrepublic.com

The exhibition concentrates on his career as a court painter in Milan, working for the city’s ruler Ludovico Maria Sforza, il Moro (‘the Moor’) in the 1480s and 1490s. Bringing together the largest ever number of Leonardo’s rare surviving paintings, it will include international loans never before seen in the UK. Private and institutional lenders have proved exceptionally generous, taking full and proper account of the serious scholarly ambition of this project.

While numerous exhibitions have looked at Leonardo da Vinci as an inventor, scientist or draughtsman, this is the first exhibition to be dedicated to his aims and ambitions as a painter. ‘Leonardo da Vinci: Painter at the Court of Milan’ will display more than 60 paintings and drawings by the great artist, as well as pictures by some of his closest collaborators. Nearly every surviving picture that he painted in Milan during this period will be exhibited. These include the 'Portrait of a Musician' (Biblioteca Ambrosiana, Milan), the 'Saint Jerome' (Vatican, Rome), 'The Lady with an Ermine' (Czartoryski Foundation, Cracow), the 'Belle Ferronnière' (Musée du Louvre, Paris) and the National Gallery’s own recently restored Virgin of the Rocks. These pictures show how Leonardo, benefiting from his salaried position, used his artistic freedom to find new ways of perceiving and recording the natural world - focusing especially on the human anatomy, soul and emotions. These investigations could take on their own life, but they also fed into the meanings and evolution of his paintings.

More than 50 drawings relating to the paintings will be exhibited for the first time. Highlights include 33 sketches and studies from the Royal Collection. The many Leonardo drawings owned by Her Majesty the Queen were probably purchased during the reign of Charles II but were rediscovered by chance only in 1778, when writer, Charles Rogers wrote: ‘Mr Dalton fortunately discovered the album of drawings at the bottom of a chest at the beginning of the reign of his present Majesty [George III]’. UK collections are rich in drawings by Leonardo – and other graphic masterpieces will be lent by the British Museum, the Courtauld Gallery, the Fitzwillam and Ashmolean Museums and the National Galleries of Scotland. From further afield come drawings from Paris, Florence, Venice and New York. The exhibition will include all the surviving drawings which are connected to the 'Last Supper' and the 'Madonna Litta', which will be lent by the Hermitage, St Petersburg.

OPENING HOURS: Daily 10.00 – 18.00, Fri & Sat 10.00 – 22.00, Sun 10.00 – 19.00

Image Credits:

Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519), Portrait of Cecilia Gallerani (‘The Lady with an Ermine’), about 1489–90, Oil on walnut , 54.8 x 40.3 cm, Property of the Czartoryski Foundation in Cracow on deposit at the National Museum in Cracow  © Princes Czartoryski Foundation

Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519), Five character studies ('A man tricked by gypsies'), about 1493, Pen and ink on paper, 26 x 20.5 cm, Lent by Her Majesty The Queen (RL 12495), The Royal Collection © 2011, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519), The Virgin and Child (‘The Madonna Litta’), about 1491–5, Tempera on canvas, transferred from wood , 42 x 33 cm, © The State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg. 2011. (GE-249), Photo by Vladimir Terebenin, Leonard Kheifets, Yuri Molodkovets