Portrait of Isabella d'Este

Portrait d'Isabelle d'Este

c. 1499–1500 · Graphic arts

MasterpieceNo. 14of the most famous works on paper

Can I see it?

Unknown

Where is “Portrait of Isabella d'Este” now? Collection: Musée du Louvre, Paris. Unknown.

Musée du Louvre

Paris, France

The owner is known; whether it is on view today is not.

In this state since: Sep 26, 2026
Source: The museum

On the map Museum page

About the work

The Portrait of Isabella d'Este is a drawing (and possible painting) by Leonardo da Vinci which was executed between 1499 and 1500. It depicts Isabella d'Este, Marchioness of Mantua. During the Italian Wars of 1499–1504, the French invaded Italy which caused Leonardo to flee from Milan to Mantua. There he had met Isabella, where she commissioned her portrait from him. Whether Leonardo completed the portrait is unknown. There is evidence through letters of the time that he held a fully completed painting of her, but they are vague in describing it. It was thought that the painting was lost to time or, perhaps, never completed at all.

Read on

A version of the portrait in oils on canvas, carbon-dated to the start of the 16th century, was discovered via private auction in Switzerland and, consequently, seized by authorities in 2015. Whether the painting is Leonardo's lost work or the work of a contemporary 'in the style of' remains unknown, as the piece awaits authentification.

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Details

Accession number: MI 753, Recto

In the catalog

Drawings & watercolors Renaissance 15th century

Sources

Musée du Louvre
Image: Musée du Louvre — GrandPalaisRmn (Musée du Louvre) / Michel Urtado

In the life of Leonardo da Vinci

The whole life

1482–1500 · Workplace
Milan
1499
The French take Milan
Milan was captured by the troops of King Louis XII of France. Leonardo left the city, and the model of the Francesco Sforza monument was badly damaged.
1500 · Residence
Florence
1500
Flight to Venice with Salaì and Pacioli
When Ludovico Sforza was overthrown by France, Leonardo fled Milan for Venice with his assistant Salaì and his friend the mathematician Luca Pacioli. There he worked as a military architect and engineer, devising ways to defend the city from naval attack.
1500
Back in Florence: a workshop with the Servites
In Florence Leonardo and his household were guests of the Servite monks at Santissima Annunziata, who gave him a workshop. According to Vasari, the cartoon of the Virgin and Child with Saint Anne and Saint John the Baptist he made there won such admiration that people flocked to see it “as if they were going to a solemn festival”.
1502
In the service of Cesare Borgia
In Cesena Leonardo entered the service of Cesare Borgia, son of Pope Alexander VI, travelling throughout Italy with him. To win his patronage he drew a town plan of Imola, after which Borgia made him his chief military engineer and architect.