Madonna of the Yarnwinder (c. 1501) is the subject of several oil paintings after a lost original by Leonardo da Vinci. They depict the Virgin Mary with the Christ child, who looks longingly at a yarnwinder which the Virgin could use to measure off yarn. The yarnwinder serves as a symbol both of Mary's domesticity and the Cross on which Christ was crucified, and may also suggest the Fates, understood in classical mythology as spinners. At least three versions are in private collections, two of them in the United States, including the one previously known as “The Landsdowne Madonna“. The original painting was probably commissioned by Florimund Robertet, the Secretary of State for King Louis XII of France.