An Italian Scholar Says He Has Identified Leonardo da Vinci’s Only Known Sculpture. Others Are Skeptical

Henri Neuendorf: Artsy

An Italian scholar says a terracotta statuette in the collection of London’s Victoria & Albert Museum is by Leonardo da Vinci, even though the museum isn’t convinced.

According to The Art Newspaper, art history professor Francesco Caglioti of the University of Naples Federico II attributed the sculpture, known as The Virgin with the Laughing Child (ca. 1465), to the 15th-century master in an interview with an Italian newspaper. If he’s correct, it would be the only known sculpture by the Renaissance polymath in existence.

“There are a thousand details, which dispel any doubts regarding the attribution,” he told La Repubblica, zeroing in on the sculptures facial expressions and drapery. …Read More

Pictured: A scholar says this work, known as The Virgin with the Laughing Child (ca. 1465), is by Leonardo da Vinci. Photo: courtesy of the Victoria & Albert Museum, London.