Allegory on the Fidelity of the Lizard (recto); Design for a Stage Setting (verso) by Leonardo da Vinci

Allegory on the Fidelity of the Lizard (recto); Design for a Stage Setting (verso) 1496

drawing, print

drawing

aged paper

toned paper

water colours

print

possibly oil pastel

tea stained

fading type

underpainting

men

watercolour bleed

watercolour illustration

watercolor

This drawing by Leonardo da Vinci, titled "Allegory on the Fidelity of the Lizard (recto); Design for a Stage Setting (verso)" depicts a scene with a figure sitting under a tree. Executed in 1496, the work is characterized by the artist's signature sfumato technique. The drawing, housed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, exemplifies da Vinci's mastery of anatomical precision and detailed observation of the natural world.