“La Scapigliata”
“La Scapigliata” is a gorgeous oil paint sketch on a wood panel attributed to the Italian Renaissance master, Leonardo da Vinci, from circa 1492 to 1501. Very few artworks by da Vinci survive to this day.
In this piece, a woman looks down to her right. Her face is detailed, shaded, and quite complete, while her hair is gestural, with a few solidly drawn strands providing suggestion for the overall style and hair texture. The faint lines of a headband can be seen across the top of the sitter’s hair.
Given no formal title, this piece is known as “La Scapigliata” which translates to “Lady with disheveled hair”. This painting is relatively small, at 8.3” x 9.7”, and was made towards the end of da Vinci’s life when he was in his late 50s. Most scholars agree that this was likely a preparatory drawing and that the final painting was never completed. Even so, da Vinci’s brilliance is evident.
Leonardo was a master at depicting facial expressions and conveying mood. The soft, subtle shading that can be seen on the sitter’s neck and face, called sfumato, was a technique invented by Leonardo. Sfumato is essentially shading without borders. He uses it to make her face three-dimensional, as it appears to nearly emerge from the panel.
“La Scapigliata” is currently on display at the Galleria Nazionale di Parma in Parma, Italy.
For more on Leonardo da Vinci, please visit his short biography here.
You can find more artists to learn about here.
