MELZI, Francesco

These heads are mostly copies after Leonardo da Vinci’s original drawings. Carefully finished with great attention to detail, they are not mechanical copies, but deliberate reworkings of the originals by the copyist.

The model for this painting, formerly thought to have been painted by Leonardo da Vinci, was believed to be a lady from the retinue of King Francis I, Leonardo’s last patron. It is now known to have been painted by Francesco Melzi, Leonardo’s favourite pupil. Flora, the ancient goddess of vegetation, is depicted with flowers executed with the pedantic precision characteristic of Leonardo’s school. Included are symbolic flowers: fragrant jasmine in the right hand speaks of lost chastity; the columbine on which the goddess gazes and her bare breast represent fertility; and the anemones in her lap indicate a return to new life.

The painting of the Roman goddess of flowers, Flora, is directly connected to the Berlin painting of Pomona and Vertumnus. Both reflect the same model by Leonardo, namely the figure of Mary in the Burlington House Cartoon. The painting appears to have remained in the royal collection in France, at least until the mid-16th century. It is possible that a cartoon of the half-length figure also existed, for in addition to some copies at least two almost identical versions of the painting still exist.

This fascinating, albeit damaged, painting of the goddess of flowers and gardens is an important document of Leonardesque painting in Rome. Although the attribution to Melzi is still open to debate, the imagery here is in line with Melzi’s two most notable works, the Flora (St Petersburg) and the Vertumnus and Pomona (Berlin). Of particular note is the intense botanical interest shown in these paintings - each flower readily identifiable and closely observed - which springs directly from association with Leonardo, as does the goddess’s half smile.

Pomona, the classical goddess of fruit, and Vertumnus, the god of transformation, are the main figures in an episode in Ovid’s Metamorphoses which is depicted here. Vertumnus enters Pomona’s grove in order to convince her of his love. Because she had always run away on previous occasions when he came, he has cunningly dressed as an old woman on this occasion. By telling her about the allegory of the grapevine and elm, he is able to convince her of the importance of togetherness, for the grapevine needs something it can climb up and the elm, when considered on its own, is useless. Persuaded, Pomona gives in to love and her innermost longings and they become a couple.

Vertumnus is a composite figure who represents various moments in time and historical elements in his various parts. His face is that of an old man, only the bonnet identifies him as an old woman. The feet and hands are those of a young person. This makes his transformation visible. The motif of his gait, due to which his garments are still fluttering, shows that he has just arrived. At the point where his right wrist is bent, the grapevine is entwined around the elm. The gentle touch of her shoulder with his youthful hand depicts the moment at which he reveals himself to her. Pomona’s eyes are still lowered longingly while he is already gazing at her passionately.

Until very recently the attribution of the painting was debated. In 1995 the existence of a documented signature by Melzi was proven, which an art dealer removed in the 18th century in order to be able to sell the picture as a work of Leonardo. Due to its poor condition, the painting was not taken seriously for a long time. It was only once it was restored that its similarity to Leonardo’s works became evident.

The drawing almost certainly depicts Leonardo da Vinci as he might have looked during the last ten years of his life. The fineness of the drawing leads us to assume that the sheet is a close copy of a self-portrait by Leonardo. It does at least appear to have been produced by someone in his immediate circle, possibly his last student Francesco Melzi. In the 16th century, this or a similar profile view was used almost exclusively as the model for depictions of Leonardo.

These heads are mostly copies after Leonardo da Vinci’s original drawings. Carefully finished with great attention to detail, they are not mechanical copies, but deliberate reworkings of the originals by the copyist.

This painting is a fairly faithful copy of Leonardo’s The Virgin and Child with St Anne in the Louvre. The picture in Florence differs from Leonardo’s in the landscape, which is entirely reformulated here, and a few, yet significant, details, such as the foreground in which an alluvial riverbank is replaced by a sumptuous meadow. A possible explanation of the differences could be that the painter of the Florence version used as model not Leonardo’s painting but his cartoon (now lost) which probably showed only the figures without Leonardo’s final alterations, and no landscape at all.

Traditionally the painting is attributed to Gian Giacomo Caprotti, called Salai, Leonardo’s rakish and ill-reputed pupil. However, on basis of stylistic similarities with Melzi’s signed Vertumnus and Pomona, it is now attributed to Francesco Melzi.

Francesco Melzi was Leonardo’s pupil and artistic heir. He worked as a painter, but he is primarily known today as a copyist of Leonardo’s drawings. He successfully emulated his teacher’s technique of tonal modeling in chalk and occasionally attempted to imitate Leonardo’s left-handing diagonal hatching. Such is the case with this pair of grotesque heads, which are copies after Leonardo. The drawing depicts an old woman with an elaborate headdress and a man with large ears.