Leda and the swan c.1507

This pen and ink drawing depicts a nude Leda in a complex twisting pose, holding a large swan against her hip. In the lower left corner, a small child emerges from the ground, referring to the eggs from which Leda's children were said to have hatched. The work is a meticulous study by Raphael based on a now-lost painting of the same subject by Leonardo da Vinci.

This work reflects the High Renaissance synthesis of classical mythology and Neoplatonic thought, specifically concerning the union of the divine and the human. The myth of Leda was often interpreted as an allegory for the generative powers of nature and the Orphic mystery of the cosmic egg.