Focus on Portrait of a Musician and explain the Identity of the sitter.
The identification of the sitter as Ludovico was accepted until a 1904–1905 restoration by Luigi Cavenaghi and Antonio Grandi removed a layer of overpaint and revealed a hand holding sheet music. This led scholars to believe that the subject was not Ludovico, but a musician in Milan at the same time as Leonardo. Since this discovery, numerous candidates have been proposed as the sitter; however, his identity remains uncertain. The man may have appeared in other works by Leonardo and his studio. Scholars at the National Gallery have suggested that Francesco Napoletano's Portrait of a Youth in Profile and Leonardo's drawing of a Bust of a Youth in Profile are of the same person. Various historical candidates have been proposed, but without firm evidence.
Milan National Gallery other works by Leonardo Francesco Napoletano's Luigi Cavenaghi overpaint restoration sheet music Francesco Napoletano