Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum
Star of Bethlehem (Ornithogalum umbellatum), wood anemone (Anemone nemorosa) and sun spurge (Euphorbia helioscopia) ©
Leonardo’s finest botanical drawings were studies for his destroyed painting of Leda and the Swan, which had a verdant setting echoing the fertility inherent in the myth.
The focus of this drawing is a clump of star-of-Bethlehem, flanked by wood anemone. Although the swirling leaves of the star-of-Bethlehem are elegantly stylised, the blades of grass growing untidily among the anemones suggest that Leonardo observed these plants in the wild. Below is a study of sun spurge with details of its seed heads.
