The Virgin with the Laughing Child has the playfulness of a true Leonardo

It’s no Mona Lisa but the tender sculpture is more credible than Salvator Mundi

Leonardo da Vinci’s “rediscovered” painting Salvator Mundi sold for $450,312,500 in 2017, setting a record for the highest price ever fetched at auction – one that is unlikely to be beaten any time soon. Yet the art world’s scepticism about it is virulent. So is the small terracotta sculpture known as The Virgin with the Laughing Child more or less likely to be a true Leonardo?

Unlike Salvator Mundi, it’s not for sale. No one is playing the market; it feels more like pure love by the experts who believe in it. And the fact is, it’s a much lovelier thing. The terracotta is well preserved – fired clay is tough stuff – and you can practically feel the artist’s fingers shaping it. It’s clearly influenced by Verocchio, the sweetly graceful artist of tender Madonnas and frolicking cupids. But at the same time, it has a wild touch that’s different from his. So what makes more sense than for it to be the work of a student of Verocchio’s – who also happened to be a genius? Leonardo is the obvious candidate.

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