In Portrait of a Man in Red Chalk, how is the History and attribution discussed?
The drawing is estimated to have been drawn c. 1510, possibly as a self-portrait by Leonardo da Vinci. In 1839, it was acquired by King Carlo Alberto of Savoy. The assumption that the drawing is a self-portrait of Leonardo was made in the 19th century, based on the similarity of the sitter to the possible portrait of Leonardo as Plato in Raphael's The School of Athens and on the high quality of the drawing, consistent with others by Leonardo. It was also decreed to be a self-portrait based on its likeness to the frontispiece portrait of Leonardo in Vasari's second edition of The Lives of the Artists (1568). During World War II, the presumed self-portrait was temporarily moved from Turin to Rome to avoid being taken by the Nazis, becoming somewhat damaged in the process. In 2000, Frank Zöllner reflected that "This red chalk drawing has largely determined our idea of Leonardo's appearance for it was long taken to be his only authentic self-portrait."Since the mid-to-late 20th century, the identification of the drawing as a self-portrait has been questioned. The claim that it represents Leonardo has been criticized by a number of Leonardo scholars and experts, such as Robert Payne, Martin Kemp, Pietro Marani, Carlo Pedretti, Larry J. Feinberg, and Martin Clayton.
A frequent criticism made in the late 20th century is that the drawing depicts a man of a greater age than Leonardo himself achieved, as he died at the age of 67 and allegedly made the drawing between the age of 58 and 60. It has been suggested that the sitter represents Leonardo's father Piero da Vinci or his uncle Francesco, based on the fact they both had a long life and lived until the age of 80.In the early 21st century, the presumed self-portrait of Leonardo was used to help identify the subject of a drawing by Giovanni Ambrogio Figino, believed to depict an elderly Leonardo with his right arm assuaged by cloth. This may correspond with accounts of Leonardo's right hand being paralytic late in life and the burial position of his presumed remains, which scientists hope to DNA test to determine if they are Leonardo's.
The School of Athens The Lives of the Artists Raphael Turin self-portrait Carlo Alberto Robert Payne Leonardo da Vinci Pietro Marani Nazis Martin Kemp Carlo Pedretti Giovanni Ambrogio Figino World War II Plato presumed remains taken by Savoy Martin Clayton Frank Zöllner Vasari