Head of Christ the Redeemer

The Head of Christ the Redeemer attributed to Salaì, dated 1511 and now at the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana in Milan, is among the most intriguing works associated with Leonardo da Vinci's immediate circle. Salaì — Gian Giacomo Caprotti — was Leonardo's pupil and companion for more than two decades, renowned for his beauty and his master's unusual indulgence of him. Several works associated with Salaì appear to be direct copies or close derivations of lost Leonardo compositions, raising persistent questions about whether they preserve Leonardo's own designs and to what degree they were produced under his supervision. The Ambrosiana in Milan is the natural home for such a work, given the institution's historic connection to Milanese Renaissance material. A Head of Christ in this devotional vein would have satisfied the demand for images of Leonardo's sacred subjects that the master's extremely limited painted output could never satisfy directly.

The head-and-shoulders format concentrates entirely on the idealised face of Christ rendered with the smoky sfumato that characterises the Leonardesque manner. Flesh transitions are extremely soft with shadows dissolving without hard contour. The expression is meditative and gentle. The technique reflects Salaì's absorption of Leonardo's tonal method even if not his master's deepest psychological penetration.