Description
Sometime between 1490 and 1500, Leonardo da Vinci (or possibly one of his followers) painted this image of Narcissus. The subject is a character from Greek mythology who falls in love with his own reflection and whose tale has given us the term “narcissist”. Unusually for portrayals of him, he has been shown in then-modern dress and in front of a raised basin rather than a natural body of water. It is for these reasons that some suspect that this work is actually a portrait in disguise. Worth noting are the curly hair, effeminate appearance, and hazy body of water in the background: all of which are characteristic of da Vinci’s work. Each of these trademark traits have been dutifully reproduced by hand in this fine oil-on-canvas recreation.
