The drawing by the great Italian artist "Bear's Head" was sold at Christie’s London auction on July 8 for a record amount for artworks of this class - $ 12.2 million.
The drawing of the great master is a pencil sketch of only 7 by 7 centimeters, which is made on beige and pink paper. Experts call the time of the creation of the work 1480 and note the time consuming and precise technique of performing the work. It is believed that da Vinci learned this technique from another great Florentine artist, Andrea del Verrocchio. The authors' art critic Ben Hall, who is engaged in painting by old authors, argues that this drawing by da Vinci is one of the most important works of the Renaissance.
Even before the auction, this sketch was exhibited more than once in world museums of various classes.
It is assumed that Leonardo made this drawing when he saw the animal in captivity. Observation helped the brilliant master to subtly draw the texture of the bear's fur, the contours of its eyes, ears and nose. Looking at the drawing, one gets the impression that you are looking at a living creature.
Experts say that this drawing later became the basis for creating the image of an ermine on the artist's famous canvas - the portrait of Cecilia Gallerani, which the general public knows as the painting "Lady with an Ermine". The drawing of a bear's head became one of the rare animal sketches that this master ever created.
Recall that in May of this year, several top auction sales took place at once. So, for $ 103 million, the painting "The Woman Sitting at the Window" by Pablo Picasso was sold. It was this painting that became the top lot of the legendary trading house.
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