Lot Description
After Leonardo da Vinci
The Madonna of the Yarnwinder
oil on panel
24½ x 19 1/8 in. 62.2 x 48.6 cm.
WOOD PRINCE COLLECTION
Pre-Lot Text
Property from the Collection of William and Eleanor Wood Prince, Chicago, Illinois
Exhibited
Cincinnati, Art Museum, on loan.
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Lot Notes
The present painting is one of several known versions after an original by Leonardo, probably commissioned by Florimund Robertet, the Secretary of State for Louis XII of France. A picture with a strong claim to being the original is in the collection of the Duke of Buccleuch.
The yarnwinder is symbolic of both Mary's domestic role and of the Cross on which Christ was crucified. It may also refer to the Fates, depicted as spinners in classical mythology, and responsible for cutting the thread of life.
