Madonna of the Yarnwinder

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Madonna of the Yarnwinder (copy)
Workshop of Leonardo da Vinci, c. 1510
Oil on canvas
50.2 × 36.4 cm
Private collection, New York

The Madonna of the Yarnwinder (c. 1501) is the subject of several oil paintings after a lost original by Leonardo da Vinci. They depict the Virgin Mary with the Christ child, who looks longingly at a yarnwinder which the Virgin is using to spin some yarn. The yarnwinder serves as a symbol both of the Mary's domesticity and the Cross on which Christ was crucified. At least three versions (one, which is also called "The Landsdowne Madonna") are in private collections, two of them in the United States.

The original painting was probably commissioned by Florimund Robertet, the Secretary of State for King Louis XII of France. One version of this painting was in the collection of the Duke of Buccleuch and hung in his home in Drumlanrig Castle, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland until in 2003 it was stolen by two thieves posing as tourists. The painting's current whereabouts remain unknown and it is unlikely that it will appear on the open market because works by Leonardo are extremely well-documented, thus suggesting that it was stolen simply for its status rather than for profit.