# Compositional Sketches for the Virgin Adoring the Christ Child, with and without the Infant St. John the Baptist; Diagram of a Perspectival Projection (recto); Slight Doodles (verso)

**Leonardo da Vinci** (Italian, 1452–1519)  
1480–85  
Silverpoint, partly reworked by the artist with pen and dark brown ink on pink prepared paper; lines ruled with metalpoint (recto); pen and brown ink (verso)  
7 5/8 x 6 3/8 in. (19.3 x 16.2 cm)

Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 17.142.1. [The museum's record](https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/337494).

## About this work

In quick silverpoint lines on pink prepared paper, Leonardo tries out several versions of the Virgin kneeling in adoration of the Christ Child, some with the infant John the Baptist and some without, reinforcing parts in pen and ink. On the same side of the sheet is a ruled diagram exploring perspective. Made in the early 1480s, the sketches show Leonardo thinking on paper, testing how figures might turn and interlock, themes he would develop in works such as the Virgin of the Rocks. The doodles on the back are a reminder of how constantly he drew.

_Written by Ochre Editions._

Leonardo da Vinci drew this in 1480–85, aged about 28. It is now at The Met in New York.

### How it was made

- **Pen and ink.** Drawn with a quill or reed pen, often with wash added by brush to model light and shadow.

### [Leonardo da Vinci](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/leonardo-da-vinci)

Italian, 1452–1519; born in Vinci; died in Amboise

Leonardo trained in Florence in the studio of Andrea del Verrocchio and spent much of his career in Milan in the service of Ludovico Sforza, where he painted The Last Supper. Painter, engineer, anatomist and student of nature, he left relatively few finished paintings, among them the Mona Lisa, but thousands of notebook pages and drawings on every subject. His soft modelling of light and shade, called sfumato, transformed painting. He died in France at Amboise, a guest of Francis I.

_Written by Ochre Editions._

## Facts

- Type: Drawings
- The artist was about 28
- Real size: about 7½ × 6½ in (19 × 16 cm). The original is small: even the 8 × 10 in print shows it larger than life.
- Century: 15th century
- Subjects: Christ, Saint John the Baptist, Virgin Mary
- Colour: brown
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/1021.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/1021/1920.jpg
- Giclée reproduction on Hahnemühle Photo Rag: 8 × 10 in $28; 11 × 14 in $38
- Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58
- Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2

Sizes stop where the museum's file would print below 150 pixels per inch. Everything sold is a reproduction, made to order. [Order a print](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/compositional-sketches-for-the-virgin-adoring-the-christ-chi-met-337494).