Study for the "Burlington House Cartoon" (The Virgin and Child with St. Anne and St. John the Baptist)

The "Study for the 'Burlington House Cartoon'" depicts the Virgin and Child with Saint Anne and Saint John the Baptist, attributed to Leonardo da Vinci. Executed primarily in charcoal and black and white chalk, the drawing spans eight sheets of paper glued together, indicating its function as a sketch and study for a larger painting. Its substantial size suggests it was a High renaissance cartoon, possibly created as a preparatory work for a project commissioned by Louis XII. As the only surviving larger-scale drawing by Leonardo, it offers vital insights into his creative process, despite no corresponding painting being known to exist.