Head of a Woman (Turin)

Leonardo da Vinci completed this portrait of the Head of a Woman in around 1483–1485, using silverpoint. The artwork resides today within the Royal Library of Turin in Italy.

Introduction

The artist regularly practiced his drawing skills throughout his career, and portraiture played a prominent role within that. He tended to cover young men and women, plus much older subjects, with relatively little in between. Da Vinci loved to compare these contrasting ages, and observe their differences.

Some of his portraits of girls and young women would carry a similar look, and the artist created a 'look' within his own mind, alternating elements around it. Some of the features of the young woman displayed here are an example of that approach, with a similar appearance to what we might find elsewhere.

Leonardo would produce portrait studies such as this for a variety of purposes. Often they would be preparation pieces for later paintings, but in most cases they would simply be for the intention of improving and evolving his technical skills. He saw this as a constant challenge, in the pursuit of excellence, perhaps even perfection.

Da Vinci's early drawings would have been heavily influenced by his apprenticeship, but over time he would start to incorporate his own ideas, both in terms of technique, but also in the types of content that he covered. Eventually he would rise to become one of the most rounded and influencing artists of all time, achieving success in multiple disciplines such as invention, drawing, painting and science.

The study in front of us here displays his skills at their rawest, with most of the scene reduced to just a series of outlines. But in the centre we find the precision that he became famed for as a painter, with subtle tones creating a lifelike image. This was created by a combination of genius, as well as endless practice and observation.

The majority of his drawings are now so fragile that it is rare to see them out on display. This is one of the greatest downsides to this important medium. Light is particularly dangerous for such old artworks, and so only a few institutions are capable of correctly preserving artworks such as this, often incorporating areas in their museums and galleries specifically for historic drawings such as this.

This article highlights technical information about the drawing, as well as compares the piece to some of the artist's other portrait drawings and paintings. We include a larger image of the sketch, so that you can enjoy more of the detail added by the artist, and there is also a description of the portrait itself. Finally, we reveal the location of this artwork today, for those interested in seeing it in person.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. Portrait Drawings by Leonardo da Vinci
3. Famous Drawings
4. Description
5. Provenance and Location
6. Size and Medium
7. Large Image of Head of a Woman
8. References

Portrait Drawings by Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo da Vinci was a highly curious man who devoted most of his drawings to the art of understanding the human body. Only a small percentage were produced with a later painting in mind, and often much of his preparation had already been done through his normal working practices and observations.

Da Vinci loved to study movement within his work, which was relatively unusual at that time, and also experimented with different postures, where the subject might be looking in a different direction to the rest of their body. The female face was found throughout the Renaissance, such as in countless portraits of the Madonna, and so it was essential that Da Vinci mastered this particular sub-genre, as shown in this study for a Head of a Woman.

Famous Drawings

Da Vinci produced amongst the most famous drawings in the history of western art, covering a mixture of different genres. His most famous piece, Vitruvian Man, was a study in proportions and anatomy. His portrait in red chalk is sometimes known as a self portrait, and there was also an impressive study of hands, which may have been a preparation for his later portrait painting of Ginevra de Benci.

He left behind huge collections of drawings, notes and inventions upon his death, running into the thousands. WHilst for many years he was known only as a painter, in recent centuries efforts have been made to document and research his achievements in other disciplines, and this has helped to give us a more rounded opinion on his life and career.

Description

The drawing features a loose outline of a female portrait, with more developed facial features. The model has a prominent nose, with high cheek bones and large open eyes. She looks directly at us, whilst angled slightly away to our left. The artist left completed the outline of her hair and shoulders, but went no further than that.

Leonardo da Vinci tended to deliver a greater contrast with his facial features, and then leave the rest of the scene a little more plain, so this drawing continues that approach. He would therefore concentrate on much more subtle variations around the face, giving a lifelike quality which resembled many of his portrait paintings.

Provenance and Location

Leonardo da Vinci's Head of a Woman from circa 1483-1485 can today be found at the Royal Library of Turin in Italy. This important institution has been designated a World Heritage Site, and contains an extraordinary collection of historic manuscripts, drawings and books, running into the main thousands. You will also find Da Vinci's Portrait of a Man in Red Chalk here.

Size and Medium

This portrait of a Head of a Woman was completed using silverpoint, and the artwork measures 18.1 cm in height, by 15.9 cm in width (7.1 in × 6.3 in). The artist specialised in silverpoint for his drawings in the early phase of his career, before later working with pen and ink, followed by chalk. In the final decade of his career he would experiment with different combinations of all that had gone before.

Large Image of Head of a Woman

See below for a larger version of the portrait, allowing you to see more of the detail added by the artist all those years ago. Most of the work completed by Da Vinci was centered around the facial features, central within the composition, where as the rest of the scene is left as just a few outlines for the hair and shoulders.

References

• Leonardo. The Complete Paintings and Drawings, Frank Zöllner & Johannes Nathan, Taschen
• Leonardo da Vinci, Walter Isaacson