Leda and the swan c.1507, RCIN 912759, v

Leda stands in a graceful, twisting pose, her body forming a serpentine curve as she looks down toward a large swan on her left. At the bottom right, a small infant sits on the ground, representing one of the offspring born from the union. This sketch captures the fluid motion and anatomical precision characteristic of High Renaissance figure studies.

This drawing demonstrates Raphael's study of Leonardo da Vinci's 'Standing Leda,' a work that deeply influenced the development of the 'figura serpentinata' in Renaissance art. In Neoplatonic thought, the myth of Leda and the Swan was often interpreted as an allegory for the soul's union with the divine and the generative power of nature.