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The Leonardo da Vinci exhibition at the Louvre includes over 120 works. This is La Belle Ferronnière (1490-1497), from the Louvre collection. The subject of this painting is believed to be Lucrezia Crivelli, a mistress of Leonardo's employer and Milan's ruler, Ludovico Sforza. Leonardo had painted a portrait of Sforza's previous mistress, Cecilia Gallerani, just a few years earlier. In fact, the walnut panels from the two works seem to come from the same tree, which has helped with attributing this work to Leonardo. The painting is also known as "La Belle Ferronnière," after the headband with a jewel worn by the subject. Browse through the gallery to see a selection of the works on display.

Ritratto di musico or the Musician (1485-1490), from Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, Milan. Leonardo's only non-religious male portrait shows a more rigid pose compared to his other portraits, which has led to some doubts on attribution. The subject's enigmatic eyes, his wonderfully painted curls and the soft edges created by Leonardo's signature sfumato technique, however, seem to confirm that the painting is at least partly his, maybe with the help of assistants.

Saint Jerome (1480-1490), from Musei Vaticani, the Vatican. Saint Jerome, a Christian priest who translated the Bible into Latin in the fourth century, is the subject of this unfinished painting that Leonardo likely started around the same time as another unfinished work, "Adoration of the Magi." This is also considered Leonardo's first anatomical drawing, due to the accurate rendering of the old man's muscles, neck and shoulders. Thirty years later, anatomy would become an area of intense study for the master.

Saint John the Baptist (1452-1519), from the Louvre collection. With a signature Leonardo gesture, Saint John points upward to the sky to announce the arrival of Christ. The work exemplifies two of the painting techniques famously perfected by Leonardo: chiaroscuro, the juxtaposition of very dark and very bright areas, and sfumato, the blurring of edges and contours to make objects and figures appears more natural. The model for the painting is likely Salai -- Leonardo's longtime assistant and partner -- who embodies another Leonardo trademark, the androgynous look, while offering the same sort of enigmatic smile that has made the "Mona Lisa" famous.

The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne (1452-1519), from the Louvre collection. This painting of the Virgin Mary, her mother Saint Anne, and the baby Jesus holding a lamb is among the last Leonardo worked on. It was commissioned by King Louis XII of France, according to the Louvre, but Leonardo never delivered it. Instead, he kept it with him until his death, perfecting it over the years.

The Virgin of the Rocks (1483-1494), from the Louvre collection. This first version of the painting, which now hangs at the Louvre, was commissioned in 1483 by the Milanese Confraternity of the Immaculate Conception as an altarpiece, but it was never delivered. Leonardo likely demanded more money than originally agreed upon and ended up either selling the painting to a third party or giving it away. To fulfill the commission, Leonardo's studio eventually made another, which now hangs at London's National Gallery. It differs from the original in a number of details (most prominently the lack of the pointing gesture by the angel towards an infant John the Baptist) but it shows enough of the master's hand to be generally attributed to him.

The Madonna of the Yarnwinder, c. 1501. Private Collection. Two versions of a painting called "Madonna of the Yarnwinder" have been attributed, at least partly, to Leonardo. They are known colloquially as the "Buccleuch Madonna" (now at the Scottish National Gallery in Edinburgh) and the "Lansdowne Madonna" (in a private collection). Leonardo's studio produced dozens of copies of a small devotional portrait of Mary and child in which the latter is holding a tool used to collect yarn. However, experts are unsure which ones -- if any -- were touched by the master's hand. The presence of pentimenti -- an alteration in the composition that shows the artist had second thoughts -- are typical of Leonardo, and less likely to be found in a copy, which has swayed attribution towards him.

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