LEONARDO DA VINCI WAS A PORNOGRAPHER

Detail from Leonardo da Vinci's "ANGELO INCARNATO." circa 1513-15
Credit: Istituto Italiano di Cultura

here we have what appears to be an erotic drawing by Leonardo da Vinci. It's called "Angelo incarnato" or "Angel incarnate" or angel made flesh.
art historian SUZANNE BRANDIS describes: The penis is discolored because somebody tried to erase it at some point. I run into defacement alot with subject matter of this type. It's even more frustrating when you read a surviving description only of a work of art that was completely destroyed by some righteous soul because of the sexual nature of the material it depicted.

It's called an angel because it's a variant of a sketch, "Angel Annunziante" It's been compared to his St. John and is probably contemporary with it. Someone described the exposed breast as having "a pronounced female nipple." The minute, diaphanous suggestion of drapery is surely related to the other treatments of the same subject.

The theory goes the "Angelo incarnato" was stolen from Windsor in the 19th century.

according to Brian Sewell, Sunday Telegraph, April 5, 1992:

"It was well known that the Royal Collection had once contained a number of pornographic drawings by Leonardo da vinci. I remember being fascinated by the story when I worked for a while in the Royal Library; the whole episode had passed into the mythology of the place. According to the version I heard, a large man in a Sherlock Holmes cape had arrived one day to have a look at the drawings. He was reputed to be a very eminent German scholar. It was not until some time later that the drawings were found to be stolen.... There is no doubt that the drawings were a considerable embarrassment, and I think everyone was very relieved to find that they'd gone." Sewell adds that both Kenneth Clark and Anthony Blunt deliberately chose not to mention this in their studies of the Queen's collections.

(As quoted by Nicholl, Leonardo da Vinci, 562, n26.)

Charles Nicholl's research led him to conclude "Angelo incarnato" is a late work related to Leonardo's half-figure painting of "St. John":

"... 'St. John' is the final stage of a long process of definition and redefinition. The earliest recorded stage is a small sketch at Windsor which is on a sheet containing studies for the "Battle of Anghiari" and therefore datable to c. 1504-5...The most extraordinary variant of this figure is a small drawing on blue paper, rediscovered in 1991, having been sequestered for years in the private collection of a 'noble German family'. In this the 'angel' - in the same pose, but no longer with a wing to identify it as an angel - is shown with a disturbingly ambiguous face, a pronounced female nipple, and, beneath the gauzy veil of the cloth which he holds in his left hand, a large erection. (An effort was made at some point to erase this last feature, resulting in a grey-brown discoloration around it: this is the original colour of the paper showing through the blue preparation of the surface.) The drawing is datable to c. 1513-15 - the Roman years - and is probably contemporary with 'St. John'."

Andre Green on the "Angelo incarnato":

"Here one meets all the contradictions, not only between feminine and masculine, but between a certain ecstasy and a sadness tending almost to anguish. The mouth is too sexy and childish, closed and half-open, dumb and about to speak. The curling hair is an attribute which may be of either sex. We feel, in short, uneasy and this is doubtless further provoked by the erection which can be seen behind the veil. There is perhaps something satanic behind this angelic being, but we cannot say if our anxieties of interpretation reflect our own difficulty in finding an overall coherence in the work, or if they stem from the incompatibility of heavenly aspirations and orgasmic pleasures."
art historians, scholars, professors and writers will contemplate on these artworks for years to come, and now we mere mortals have a chance to view them!

according to the LAtimes- It's not often that artwork by Leonardo da Vinci makes the journey to Los Angeles. But in December, three drawings by the Renaissance master will go on display at L.A.'s Italian Cultural Institute along with a video installation by Bill Viola.

Leonardo's "The Angel in the Flesh," pictured, dates from around 1515 and was produced by the artist in Amboise, France. It depicts a smiling, androgynous figure in the process of lifting its right arm in salutation. This marks the first time that "Angel" will be shown in the U.S., according to Francesca Valente, who is organizing the exhibition.

Also part of the show are two sketches from Leonardo's "The Theatre Sheet," which is believed to have been created around 1506 to 1508. The two fragments are figure studies for a stage set of Angelo Poliziano’s "Orpheus." The drawings come from "The Mind of Leonardo," a recent exhibition at the National Museum of Palazzo Venezia in Rome.

Video artist Viola will present his 2002 work "The Last Angel" as part of the show. The installation features slow-motion imagery of an angelic figure in water, accompanied by an original soundtrack. Viola is scheduled to appear in person on Dec. 2 to present his work in a discussion with author Carlo Pedretti, who is a Leonardo scholar and UCLA Professor Emeritus.

The exhibition will run Dec. 2-12.
Italian Cultural Institute of Los Angeles
1023 Hilgard Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90024
Tel. (310) 443-3250
Fax.(310) 443-3254
email: iicla@esteri.it

Open to the public
10am to 6pm- daily during the run of this exhibit.