Worcester Art Museum mounts exhibition reattributing painting to Leonardo da Vinci

The Worcester Art Museum (WAM) in Massachusetts will open 'Il Mistero del Leonardo di Worcester’s' on March 10, 2018, running through June 10, 2018. The exhibition focuses on reattributing the panel painting 'Miracolo di San Donato di Arezzo' (circa 1479-85) to Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519). The work, in the museum's collection since 1940, was initially attributed to Leonardo, then later to Lorenzo di Credi (1459-1537), a fellow pupil of Verrocchio. Chief curator Rita Albertson and Yale University Art Gallery curator Laurence Kanter have opposed that attribution. Albertson cites X-ray studies revealing both artists' hands, with a greater contribution from Leonardo, confirmed by preparatory drawings and details like light effects, eyelashes, facial wrinkles, and landscape. Kanter, who doubted for twenty years, notes that only Leonardo in Florence painted in oil (the technique used for the Worcester panel), while Lorenzo di Credi and Verrocchio preferred tempera. The exhibition also includes a small panel (16x60 cm) called 'L’Annunciazione' (circa 1475-1478) from the Louvre, attributed alternately to Lorenzo di Credi and Leonardo, with disputed authorship. Both works were part of a commission to Verrocchio's workshop in 1475 for the Pala del Duomo di Pistoia. The show follows Christie's sale of 'Salvator Mundi' for $450 million, acquired for the Louvre Abu Dhabi.