The Head of the Virgin in Three-Quarter View Facing Right

In this intimate drawing, a young woman's head tilts gently downward, her face captured in a three-quarter view, facing right. Her hair is intricately styled, with two braids secured by a veil at the crown, and a delicate lock falling over her left cheek. Created using black chalk, charcoal, and red chalk, with subtle touches of white, the drawing demonstrates a remarkable softness and depth. This study was a preparatory work for the head of the Virgin Mary in a larger painting, "The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne," now in the Louvre. Likely made between 1507 and 1513, it reflects a period when the artist, despite his varied interests, continued to refine his painting compositions through detailed studies like this one. The delicate blending of chalks creates a hazy, atmospheric quality, a technique that imbues the figure with a sense of serene beauty.