The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne and Saint John the Baptist

The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne and Saint John the Baptist, sometimes called The Burlington House Cartoon, is a drawing by Leonardo da Vinci. The drawing is in charcoal and black and white chalk, on eight sheets of paper glued together. Because of its large size and format the drawing is presumed to be a cartoon for a painting. No painting by Leonardo exists that is based directly on this cartoon. The drawing depicts the Virgin Mary seated on the knees of her mother, Saint Anne, while holding the Christ Child as Christ's young cousin, John the Baptist, stands to the right. It currently hangs in the National Gallery in London. It was either executed in around 1499–1500, at the end of the artist's first Milanese period, or around 1506–1508, when he was shuttling between Florence and Milan. The majority of scholars prefer the latter date, although the National Gallery and others prefer the former.