“Then as now, Leonardo’s boy angels are feminine to the point of being androgynous; it is true of the angel in his early Annunciation and also of the one in Virgin of the Rocks. In this new Annunciation, the androgyny is more pronounced than ever. The angel has budding breasts, and his face is even more girlish. There is another drawing of the angel, one that is astonishing and still controversial. Made around 1513, while Leonardo was in Rome, it shows a lewdly leering transgender version of the Angel of the Annunciation with female breasts and a large erect penis (fig. 132). Known as the Angel Incarnate or Angel in the Flesh, it is the extreme example of Leonardo’s dance around what he viewed as the ambiguous border between flesh and spirit as well as the one between feminine and masculine. Isaacson, Walter. Leonardo da Vinci (pp. 471-472). Simon & Schuster. Kindle Edition. Isaacson, Walter. Leonardo da Vinci (p. 471). Simon & Schuster. Kindle Edition. ”
