Follower of Giovanni Antonio Boltraffio, Narcissus

In Greek mythology, Narcissus was an outstandingly handsome young man who fell in love with his own reflection in a woodland pool, eventually pining away with unrequited passion. This tiny picture shows him dressed elegantly and with a wreath of leaves in his hair, gazing into a still basin of water. It’s unusual for Narcissus to be shown in contemporary dress – he is more usually depicted as a classical hunter, as in Mountain Landscape with Narcissus, or as a beautiful, naked youth.

Another version of this scene, with a slightly different landscape and without the raised pool, is in the Uffizi, Florence. In the past both have been attributed to Giovanni Antonio Boltraffio, one of Leonardo da Vinci’s most talented followers, though they are of lower quality than any of his works. Both seem to have been painted by the same artist, who followed Boltraffio’s ideas closely: they recall his drawings of the profiles of an idealised youth with flowing hair and a wreath (Département des Arts Graphiques, Musée du Louvre, Paris, and elsewhere). These poetic images, perhaps harking back to an original by Leonardo, are typical of the culture of the Milanese court during the 1490s.

This picture is painted on a walnut panel, which is complete at the top but has perhaps been cut along the other three edges. Technical analysis has shown that the position of the head was altered slightly during painting. A larger reserve was left for the back of the head; changes in the paint in the rocks above the collar, as well as some curved lines, suggest either that more hair was planned or that the collar was higher and the fur longer. The profile was also slightly modified, pivoting the angle of Narcissus' face to further lower his gaze.