The drawing has been drawn in fine unique lines, shadowed by hatching and executed with the left hand, as was Leonardo's habit.

It is housed in Turin, at the Royal Library, and is not generally viewable by the public due to its fragility and poor condition.

Their technique, described in Applied Physics Letters (2014), will be used to assess the rate at which the image is deteriorating and should help with planning appropriate conservation strategies.

During World War II, the presumed self-portrait was temporarily moved from Turin to Rome to avoid being taken by the Nazis, becoming somewhat damaged in the process.

[4] In 2000, Frank Zöllner reflected that "This red chalk drawing has largely determined our idea of Leonardo's appearance for it was long taken to be his only authentic self-portrait.

[2] It has been suggested that the sitter represents Leonardo's father Piero da Vinci or his uncle Francesco, based on the fact they both had a long life and lived until the age of 80.

[2] He may have been the model for two works by his master Verrocchio: the bronze statue of David (c. 1476) in the Bargello, and the archangel Raphael in Tobias and the Angel (c. 1475).

[citation needed] A 1505 engraving by Marcantonio Raimondi may portray Leonardo playing a lira da braccio, but this has yet to be verified.

Romantic paintings by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, François-Guillaume Ménageot and other French artists, as well as Angelica Kauffman depict the legendary account of Leonardo's death in the hands of King Francis I of France.