Verrocchio seems to have passed more than just technical skills to his student. The work ethic we find in Verrochio, if Vasari's observations are to be believed, are also present in the student. In his 'Lives of the Artists', Giorgio Vasari comments that Verrocchio's style was somewhat hard and crude, acquired "rather by inifinite study than by the facility of a natural gift". It is a work ethic that da Vinci, with his prodigious output undoubtably put into practice, as well as articulating it in his Notebooks:
"The youth should first learn perspective, then the proportions of objects. Then he may copy from some good master, to accustom himself to fine forms. Then from nature, to confirm by practice the rules he has learnt. Then see for a time the works of various masters. Then get the habit of putting his art into practice and work."
At our Art History GuideSite, you can find a page hosting a very large and good quality reproduction of this beautiful drawing by Verrocchio. Just click on the image on that page to open the full-sized jpeg image in a new tab.
