La Scapigliata

This unfinished portrait by Leonardo da Vinci of a young woman with tousled hair (hence her nickname, scapigliata) is mainly a brush drawing with a little pigment, its treatment being similar to that of other incomplete works by the artist.

However, the contrast between the drawing of the hair and neck and the refined modelling of the face must be intentional.

It suggests that Leonardo was inspired by a passage (well known in the Renaissance) by the Roman author Pliny the Elder. See more