Print of Leonardo da Vinci - Madonna with the Spinning Wheel or madonna of the spindles - 1501
Leonardo da Vinci - Madonna with the Spinning Wheel or Madonna of the Spindles
Year: 1501 - oil on panel - 36.4x50.2 cm
Preserved at: private collection in New York, USA.
In a letter to Isabella d'Este, dated 14 April 1501, the Carmelite Pietro da Novellara wrote that Leonardo da Vinci was making a "little picture" for the secretary of the French king Florimond Robertet, which depicted the Virgin in the act of "unexpected the spindles "and the Child as he grasps the reel as if it were a cross. It is certainly the madonna of the spindles or with the Spinning Wheel.
The painting shows the Madonna sitting on a rock with her head turned to the right, where the Baby Jesus is holding a reel (a stick with two slats perpendicular to the ends to wrap the skeins of spun wool), fixing it with intensity as if it were a cross.
