THE ULTIMATE MASTERPIECE
Having read so much about the Sainte-Anne restoration and looking at the photos in two major art magazines which I subscribe to, obviously I went to see the exhibition at the Louvre. Why obviously? Well, because Marielle would be joining me and looking at this kind of work as well as Artemisia, is I consider part of my «education». Even more so when I am accompanied by a connaisseur. It took Leonardo da-Vinci over 20 years to complete this painting and was it completed? That is the question even today. It also took nearly 20 years for the Louvre to go ahead and restore the picture. This took 18 months with enough dramas along the line to make the «da-Vinci Code» look dull itself. The curator did a remarkable job of getting all the notes together and acquiring over 30 I think of the preparatory designs. Many, 20, come from the Queen’s collection. I wonder if she ever looks at them? I would every day. They are astounding. Muscles in the arm. The drapes of a coat. A foot where nails s