Resurrected da Vinci masterpiece goes on display

Published on Thursday 17 December 2009 21:46

A PAINTING by Leonardo da Vinci went on display in Scotland yesterday, six years after it was stolen from a stately home.

• Clare McCormack of the National Gallery with the Buccleuch version of Madonna of the Yarnwinder, which is the only work by da Vinci in Scotland Picture: PA

The Madonna of the Yarnwinder belongs to the Duke of Buccleuch, who has loaned the 500-year-old masterpiece to the National Gallery of Scotland in Edinburgh.

The painting, which hung in Drumlanrig Castle in Dumfriesshire, was taken in 2003 but was recovered by police and returned to the estate in 2007. Eight men have been charged in connection with the theft.

The Madonna of the Yarnwinder is the only painting in Scotland by Italian artist and inventor Leonardo da Vinci and, according to experts, is a fine example of the Italian masters work. Painted in oils on a small panel, the masterpiece depicts the Madonna with the infant Jesus holding a cross-shaped wooden yarnwinder. Experts believe it was created between 1500 and 1510 for Florimond Robertet, a trusted minister and diplomat of the King of France, who had close ties to Italy.

Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) had a poor record when it came to completing his works and the extent of his direct involvement in the painting is the subject of much debate.

Art specialists say the overall design, the figures and the rocks in the foreground are his but the background landscape was probably added or completed by another artist.

A spokeswoman said: "The National Gallery of Scotland is delighted to announce that The Madonna of the Yarnwinder by Leonardo da Vinci will go on display in the Gallery from today."

The painting was featured in an exhibition at the National Gallery in 1992.