Virgin of the Rocks

Last updated
Paris version
Leonardo Da Vinci - Vergine delle Rocce (Louvre).jpg
Artist Leonardo da Vinci
Year1483–1486
Type Oil on panel (transferred to canvas)
Dimensions199 cm× 122 cm(78.3 in× 48.0 in)
Location Louvre, Paris
London version
Leonardo da Vinci Virgin of the Rocks (National Gallery London).jpg
Artist Leonardo da Vinci and other(s)
Year1495–1508
Medium Oil on panel
Dimensions189.5 cm× 120 cm(74.6 in× 47.25 in)
Location National Gallery, London

The Virgin of the Rocks (Italian : Vergine delle rocce), sometimes the Madonna of the Rocks, is the name of two paintings by the Italian Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci, of the same subject, with a composition which is identical except for several significant details. The version generally considered the prime version, the earlier of the two, is unrestored and hangs in the Louvre in Paris. The other, which was restored between 2008 and 2010, hangs in the National Gallery, London. The works are often known as the Louvre Virgin of the Rocks and London Virgin of the Rocks respectively. The paintings are both nearly 2 metres (over 6 feet) high and are painted in oils. Both were originally painted on wooden panels, but the Louvre version has been transferred to canvas. [1]

Contents

Both paintings show the Virgin Mary and child Jesus with the infant John the Baptist and an angel Uriel, in a rocky setting which gives the paintings their usual name. The significant compositional differences are in the gaze and right hand of the angel. There are many minor ways in which the works differ, including the colours, the lighting, the flora, and the way in which sfumato has been used. Although the date of an associated commission is documented, the complete histories of the two paintings are unknown, leading to speculation about which of the two is earlier.

Two further paintings are associated with the commission: side panels each containing an angel playing a musical instrument and completed by associates of Leonardo. These are both in the National Gallery, London.

The paintings

Louvre version

The Virgin of the Rocks in the Louvre is considered by most art historians to be the earlier of the two and dates from around 1483–1486. Most authorities agree that the work is entirely by Leonardo. [2] It is about 8 cm (3 in) taller than the London version. The first certain record of this picture dates from 1625, when it was in the French royal collection. It is generally accepted that this painting was produced to fulfill a commission of 1483 in Milan. It is hypothesised that this painting was privately sold by Leonardo and that the London version was painted at a later date to fill the commission. [2] There are a number of other theories to explain the existence of two paintings. [3] [4] This painting is regarded as a perfect example of Leonardo's "sfumato" technique.

London version

A very similar painting in the National Gallery, London, is also ascribed to Leonardo da Vinci, and ascribed a date before 1508. [5] Originally thought to have been partially painted by Leonardo's assistants, a close inspection of the painting during the recent restoration between 2008 and 2010 has led the conservators from the National Gallery to conclude that the greater part of the work is by the hand of Leonardo, [6] but debate continues. [7] Parts of the painting, the flowers in particular, indicate the collaboration and have led to speculation that the work is entirely by other hands, [8] possibly Leonardo's assistant Giovanni Ambrogio de Predis and perhaps Evangelista. [9]

It was painted for the chapel of the Confraternity of the Immaculate Conception, in the church of San Francesco Maggiore in Milan. It was sold by the church, very likely in 1781, and certainly by 1785, when it was bought by Gavin Hamilton, who took it to England. After passing through various collections, it was bought by the National Gallery in 1880. [2]

Angels

Two paintings of angels playing musical instruments are believed to have been part of the composition that was set into the altarpiece. These two pictures, now in the National Gallery, London, are thought to have been completed between 1490 and 1495. One, an angel in red, is thought to be the work of Ambrogio de Predis while the angel in green is thought to be the work of a different assistant of Leonardo, perhaps Francesco Napoletano. [10]

History

Chapel of the Immaculate Conception

The Chapel of the Immaculate Conception was founded prior to 1335 by Beatrice d'Este, wife of Gian Galeazzo Visconti, Duke of Milan. The chapel was attached to the church of S. Francesco Grande, Milan. [11]

In 1479 the Confraternity of the Immaculate Conception contracted Francesco Zavattari and Giorgio della Chiesa to decorate the vault of the chapel. [11] In 1480 the Confraternity of the Immaculate Conception contracted Giacomo del Maino to create a large wooden altarpiece with spaces for paintings and with carvings and decoration, to be placed above the altar of the chapel. Final payment was to be made on August 7, 1482. [11]

Commission for the painting

On April 25, 1483, Prior Bartolomeo Scorlione and the Confraternity contracted Leonardo da Vinci, and the brothers Ambrogio and Evangelista de Predis to provide the painted panels for the altarpiece. [11] The contract was not explicit about what each artist was to do. Leonardo was referred to in the contract as "Master". Ambrogio de Predis was also a painter. [11] It is presumed that Evangelista de Predis was a gilder and assisted in preparing the colours.

The details of the painting, colouring and gilding are set out in the contract. [12] The central panel was to be a painting showing the Virgin Mary and Christ child, with two prophets, probably David and Isaiah, surrounded by angels. Above them was to be a lunette containing a relief panel of God and the Virgin Mary, beneath which was a panel showing the crib. The relief figures were to be brightly painted and gilded. To either side of the central painting were to be painted panels showing four angelic musicians on one side and four singing angels on the other. A number of sculptured relief panels were to depict the life of the Virgin Mary. Details of the colours and the gilding of the major parts were specified in the contract. [12]

The due date of installation was December 8, 1483, the Feast Day of the Immaculate Conception, giving seven months for its completion. [11]

Leonardesco, forse ambrogio de predis, angelo di sx della vergine delle rocce di londra.jpg
Angel by an unknown painter, perhaps Bernardino Luini or Francesco Napoletano
Leonardesco, forse ambrogio de predis, angelo di dx della vergine delle rocce di londra.jpg
Angel probably by Ambrogio de Predis.

Payment

On May 1, 1483, there was an initial payment of 100 Lire. This was followed by payments of 40 Lire per month from July 1483 until February 1485 totalling 800 Lire. [11] A final payment was to be negotiated upon completion and delivery of the work in December 1483. [11]

Between 1490 and 1495, Ambrogio and Leonardo wrote to the Confraternity stating that the centrepiece had cost the whole 800 Lire and they asked for a further 1,200 Lire, according to the contract. The Confraternity offered them only 100 Lire as a result of the petition. [11] Leonardo and Ambrogio then requested Ludovico Sforza, the Duke of Milan, to intervene on their behalf. It was suggested that the altarpiece should be assessed by experts and evaluated, for the final payment. The artists also suggested that if an agreement over price could not be met, then they should remove the artwork. [11]

In 1503 Ambrogio again appealed for payment, on his own behalf and that of the heirs of his now deceased brother, Evangelista. [11] On March 9, 1503, Louis XII of France, who had invaded Lombardy in 1499, wrote to the commander of Milan requesting that he intervene on behalf of the artists. [11] On June 23, 1503, the Confraternity set out a deed contesting de Predis' request for evaluation or return of the painting. [11] On April 27, 1506, an evaluation was made. It was judged that the work was still incomplete. Leonardo was requested to finish it, but he was still absent from Milan. [11]

On August 18, 1508, the painting was delivered and put into place. [11] On August 7, 1507, and October 23, 1508, Ambrogio received two payments totalling 200 Lire. The receipt of this payment is acknowledged in correspondence by Leonardo. [11]

1524–2011

In 1524 and 1576 The Virgin of the Rocks in the Chapel of the Immaculate Conception, presumably the London version, was invoked against the plague. [13] In 1576, the altarpiece was removed from the chapel, which was demolished. [11] In mid-1785, Gavin Hamilton, a Scottish painter and dealer, paid 1,582 Lire to purchase the Virgin of the Rocks from Alessandro, Count Cicogna, administrator of the religious body which succeeded the Confraternity of the Immaculate Conception. [14] Hamilton's heirs sold the painting to Lord Lansdowne, [11] who had amassed considerable debts. After his death in 1805, his son John was forced to sell nearly all of his father's collections, [15] and the painting was purchased by the 15th Earl of Suffolk. In 1880, the painting was sold by the 18th Earl of Suffolk to the National Gallery for 9,000 guineas. It was reported at that time to be in a poor state and was attributed by some critics to Leonardo and by others to Bernardino Luini. [11]

In June 2005, the painting was examined by infra-red reflectogram. This imaging revealed a draft of a different painting beneath the visible one. The draft portrays a woman, probably kneeling, with her right hand outstretched and her left on her heart. [16] [17] Some researchers believe that the artist's original intention was to paint an adoration of the infant Jesus. [18] In 2021, Oxia Palus–an artificial intelligence company specialised in the reconstruction of lost artwork–used machine learning techniques to reconstruct this pentimento using the entire oeuvre of Leonardeschi paintings. [19] Many other pentimenti are visible under x-ray or infra-red examination. [16]

In 2009/2010 the painting underwent cleaning and conservation work, [6] returning to display in July 2010. The National Gallery, in a preliminary announcement of the results of the work, said that it revealed that the painting was largely, possibly entirely, by Leonardo, and unfinished in parts. The full publication of the findings was released later in 2010. [20]

Louvre painting

In 1625 the Virgin of the Rocks now in the Louvre was seen at Fontainebleau by Cassiano dal Pozzo. In 1806, the French restorer Fr Hacquin transferred the Louvre Virgin of the Rocks from its panel onto canvas. [11] For a brief time in 2011–12 it was hung with the London painting as part of an exhibition in the National Gallery on Leonardo's activity as painter to the court of Ludovico Sforza. [21]

Side panels

The two panels from the completed altarpiece containing figures of angels playing musical instruments were acquired by the National Gallery, London in 1898. [10]

Subject

Detail of Christ Child and angel, Louvre Leonardo da Vinci - Virgin of the Rocks (detail) - WGA12696.jpg
Detail of Christ Child and angel, Louvre
Female head study by Leonardo for the Madonna of the Rocks, Royal Library of Turin Leonardo study Madonna of the rocks.jpeg
Female head study by Leonardo for the Madonna of the Rocks, Royal Library of Turin

The subject of the two paintings is the adoration of the Christ child by the infant John the Baptist. This subject relates to a non-Biblical event which became part of the medieval tradition of the holy family’s journey into Egypt. The Gospel of Matthew relates that Joseph, the husband of Mary, was warned in a dream that King Herod would attempt to kill the child Jesus, and that he was to take the child and his mother and flee to safety. [22] There are a series of non-Biblical narratives that relate to the journey to Egypt. One of these concerns Jesus’ cousin, John the Baptist, whose family, like that of Jesus, resided in the town of Bethlehem where the Massacre of the Innocents was to take place. According to legend, John was escorted to Egypt by the Archangel Uriel, and met the holy family on the road. [23] The Louvre website refers to the angel in the painting as "Gabriel" (but the description of the painting in the Louvre still refers to Uriel). This accords with the Apocryphal gospel of John the Baptist, which describes his removal from Bethlehem as by Gabriel rather than Uriel and does not mention the meeting on the road to Egypt. [1]

The subject of the Virgin Mary with the Christ child being adored by John the Baptist was common in the art of Renaissance Florence. John the Baptist is the patron saint of Florence and has often been depicted in the art of that city. [24] Those who painted and sculpted the subject of the Mary and child with St John include Fra Filippo Lippi, Raphael, and Michelangelo. [25] [26] [27]

In both paintings the scene is depicted taking place against a background of rock formations. While scenes of the Nativity were sometimes depicted as taking place in a cave, and Kenneth Clark points to the existence of an earlier rocky landscape in an adoration painted for the Medici family by Fra Filippo Lippi, [28] the setting was unprecedented [1] and gave to the paintings their usual name of the Virgin of the Rocks.

Description

Composition

The two paintings of the Virgin of the Rocks that now belong to the National Gallery, London, and that belonging to the Louvre Museum, Paris, are the same in subject matter and in overall composition, indicating that one is derivative of the other. The two paintings differ in compositional details, in colour, in lighting and in the handling of the paint.

Both paintings show a grouping of four figures, the Virgin Mary, the Christ child, the infant John the Baptist and an angel arranged into a triangular composition within the painting and set against a background of rocks, and a distant landscape of mountains and water. In both paintings, Mary makes the apex of the pyramidal figure group, stretching one hand to include John and raising the other above the head of the Christ child in a blessing. John kneels, gazing towards the Christ child with his hands together in an attitude of prayer. The Christ child sits towards the front of the painting, supported by the angel, and raising his right hand in a sign of Benediction towards the kneeling John.

Differences

Compositionally, all the figures are slightly larger in the London painting than in the Louvre painting. [3] The main compositional difference between the two paintings is that while in the London painting the angel's right hand rests on his/her knee, in the Louvre painting the hand is raised, the index finger pointing at John. The eyes of the angel are turned down in a contemplative manner in the London painting, but in the Louvre picture are turned to gaze in the general direction of the viewer. [29]

In the London painting, all the forms are more defined, including the bodily forms of the clothed figures. [3] The rocks are painted in meticulous detail, while the forms of the background in the painting in the Louvre are all more hazy. [3] The contrast between light and shade on the figures and faces in the London painting are all much sharper. [29] The faces and forms in the Louvre painting are more delicately painted and subtly blurred by sfumato . The lighting in the Louvre painting is softer and appears warmer, but this may be the result of the tone of the varnish on the surface. In keeping with their conservative handling of Leonardo's works, the Louvre version has not undergone significant restoration or cleaning. [30] The Louvre painting remains much as it was in 1939 when Kenneth Clark lamented that "We can form no real conception of the colour, the values, or the general tone of the original, buried as it is under layer upon layer of thick yellow varnish. In the darks some mixture of bitumen has made the surface cake and crack like mud, and there are innumerable patches of old repaint all over the picture. All this must be borne in mind before we say that at this date Leonardo was a dark painter and an uninteresting colourist." [31]

Detail of green angel Predis, Giovanni Ambrogio de -- Angel in green with a vielle, part of S. Francesco altarpiece, Milan (bust) -- 1490s.jpg
Detail of green angel

Another difference is in the colouring of the robes, particularly those of the angel. The London painting contains no red, while in the Louvre painting, the angel is robed in bright red and green, with the robes arranged differently from those of the angel in London. [3] The London version contains traditional attributes missing from the Louvre version, the haloes and John's traditional cruciform reed staff. Davies says it is "not certain" if these details which are painted in gold are contemporary with the painting or have been added by a later artist. [2] The details of the flowers are also quite different in the two paintings, with those in the Louvre painting being botanically accurate, and those in the London painting being fanciful creations. [32]

Angel musicians

The two paintings of angels that are associated with the Virgin of the Rocks and are in the National Gallery do not properly fulfil the original commission for two panels each showing four angels, singing on one side and playing musical instruments on the other. There are only two musicians, both turned the same direction and both playing musical instruments. One, in green, plays a vielle, and the other, in red, plays a lute. The positions of the feet and the drapery are similar, indicating that the same design has in part been utilised for both. The angel in red is thought to be the work of Ambrogio de Predis. [33] The angel in green is the work of an unknown associate of Leonardo. The National Gallery suggests that it might be the work of Francesco Napoletano. [33]

In both cases the angel is standing in a grey painted niche. A reflectogram of the Angel in green with a Vielle revealed part of a painted landscape. [33] The background of the Angel in red with a Lute could not be determined because the grey paint on that painting is thick and opaque. While it is commonly thought that the two angel panels were originally placed on either side of the central panel, an article published by the National Gallery suggests that they were placed higher up on the altarpiece. [33]

Interpretation

Detail, London Leonardo da Vinci 028.jpg
Detail, London

The relationship between the two paintings “remains much debated”. [34] Matters of debate include the dates of the two paintings, their authorship and the nature of their symbolism. For a few months in 2011 and 2012 the two paintings were brought together, possibly for the first time, in the same room in an exhibition at the National Gallery. [21]

Dates

It is generally accepted by art historians that the Louvre version is the earlier work. Martin Davies, former director of the National Gallery, described the painting in the Louvre as being stylistically close to Leonardo's earlier works and the London painting more suggestive of his maturer style, and therefore the later of the two, and derivative of the Louvre painting. [2] Most authors agree that the Louvre painting was the one that was painted to fulfil the commission of 1483. [35]

Some writers, including Martin Davies, feel that 1483 is too late a date for the Louvre version, and suggest that the painting had already been begun and perhaps completed in Florence before the commission. Wasserman, Ottino della Chiesa and others have pointed out that the measurements of both paintings are compatible with the altarpiece, and that it is an unlikely coincidence that Leonardo painted a picture that fitted the dimensions, at a time prior to the commission. [3] Wasserman suggests that perhaps the Louvre painting was extended to fit the arched shape, and that the joint is no longer visible since the painting was transferred to canvas in the 19th century. [36] Davies suggests that Leonardo painted the second version in the 1480s to fulfil the commission, and based it on the earlier work. [2] Kenneth Clark agrees with this interpretation, placing the Louvre painting prior to 1481 and the London painting from 1483. [37]

The theory that is most commonly used to explain the existence of the two paintings is that Leonardo painted the Louvre Virgin of the Rocks to fulfil the commission, giving it a date of 1483, and that he then sold it to another client, and painted the London version as a replacement. In line with this theory, it is hypothesised that the Louvre painting was sold in the late 1480s, after some haggling over the final payment. The London painting was commenced in perhaps 1486 as a substitution for the "original" Louvre version, and was not ready for installation until 1508, after prolonged disagreement and negotiation. This explanation, which della Chiesa attributes to Venturi and Poggi, [38] has gained wide acceptance, and is the version of events described on both the National Gallery and the Louvre websites. [1] [39] [40] Martin Kemp dates the Louvre painting to 1483–1490 and the London painting to 1495–1508. [5]

Not all authors agree with either the dating or the theory that the Louvre painting was the earlier, was sold, and the London painting done as a substitute. Taylor asserts that the London painting is stylistically the earlier of the two, being more meticulous, in keeping with the product of Leonardo's Florentine training, while the Louvre painting has more in common with the Last Supper and the Virgin and Child with St Anne, including the delicate use of sfumato. [4] Taylor argues that the London painting fulfils the requirements of the commission of 1483 in terms of iconography, and that the iconography of the Louvre painting indicates that it was painted for an entirely different clientele, and gives it a date in the 1490s. [41]

Authorship

Bernardino Luini, The Holy Family with St. John. Museo del Prado, Madrid Bernardino Luini - Holy Family with the Infant St John - WGA13760.jpg
Bernardino Luini, The Holy Family with St. John. Museo del Prado, Madrid

It has always been agreed that the Louvre Virgin of the Rocks is entirely by the hand of Leonardo da Vinci. The Virgin of the Rocks in London has generally been seen as having been designed by Leonardo and executed with the assistants. [39] The Louvre website and various authors suggest that the entire painting is by Ambrogio de Predis, painted under Leonardo's supervision between 1485 and 1508, or perhaps largely the work of de Predis, with minor intervention by Leonardo. [1] [42]

Since the recent cleaning, National Gallery curator Luke Syson has stated that the quality which has been revealed indicates that the work is mostly from the hand of Leonardo, and that participation of members of Leonardo's workshop was almost certainly less than previously thought. [6]

Geologist Ann C. Pizzorusso argues that there are geological inaccuracies in the London version, unlike the Louvre version, which mean it is unlikely to have come from Leonardo's hand. [43] Taylor disputes this, drawing attention to the fact that, at the time of writing, Pizzorusso had plainly not seen the glacial lakes to which she referred, and had mistaken clumps of moss for sandstone boulders. [44]

Copies and derivations

One of the earliest known direct copies of the Louvre version is actually an altar cloth called the Paliotto leonardesco (ca 1487–90) [45] housed in the Museo Baroffio, and the other is a painting (ca 1494–8) located in the Cheramy Collection, believed by Carlo Pedretti to be created by Leonardo's own hand. [46] In her 1967 book (published in English in 1985) Angela Ottino della Chiesa identifies four paintings derived to some degree from The Virgin of the Rocks: the Holy Family and St. John by Bernardino Luini in the Museo del Prado in Madrid, the Thuelin Madonna by Marco d'Oggiono in the Thuelin collection in Paris and the Holy Infants Embracing by Joos van Cleve in the Capodimonte Museum in Naples. This image was much copied by Flemish artists including Joos van Cleve and Quentin Matsys – there is a small painting in Chatsworth by the latter. There is also a smaller copy of The Virgin of the Rocks (oil on wood) possibly by Joos van Cleve or his circle (private collection Berlin).

There is a 16th-century copy in the Royal Collection, given as a birthday present to Queen Victoria in 1847 by her husband Prince Albert. [47]

In popular culture, in 1968 the American TV series It Takes a Thief based the episode "The Illegal Angel" around the theft of a fictional Leonardo painting titled The Sorrowful Angel, which is actually a close-up of the angel's face on the right of Virgin of the Rocks. The plot of the episode involves an art forger having to make a copy of Sorrowful Angel as part of a plan to trap a criminal by fooling him into thinking he has purchased a genuine Leonardo.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leonardo da Vinci</span> Italian Renaissance polymath (1452–1519)

Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially rested on his achievements as a painter, he has also become known for his notebooks, in which he made drawings and notes on a variety of subjects, including anatomy, astronomy, botany, cartography, painting, and palaeontology. Leonardo is widely regarded to have been a genius who epitomised the Renaissance humanist ideal, and his collective works comprise a contribution to later generations of artists matched only by that of his younger contemporary Michelangelo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pietro Perugino</span> Italian Renaissance painter (c. 1446 1452–1523)

Pietro Perugino, an Italian Renaissance painter of the Umbrian school, developed some of the qualities that found classic expression in the High Renaissance. Raphael became his most famous pupil.

<i>Ship of Fools</i> (painting) Painting by Hieronymus Bosch

Ship of Fools is a painting by the Early Netherlandish artist Hieronymus Bosch, now in the Musée du Louvre, Paris. Camille Benoit donated it in 1918. The Louvre restored it in 2015. The surviving painting is a fragment of a triptych that was cut into several parts. This piece, originally part of a larger body of work relating to the seven deadly sins, depicts the sin of gluttony. The Ship of Fools was painted on one of the wings of the altarpiece, and is about two-thirds of its original length. The bottom third of the panel belongs to Yale University Art Gallery and is exhibited under the title Allegory of Gluttony. The other wing, which has more or less retained its full length, is the Death and the Miser, now in the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. The two panels together would have represented the two extremes of prodigality and miserliness, condemning and caricaturing both. The Wayfarer (Rotterdam) was painted on the right panel rear of the triptych. The central panel, if it existed, is unknown.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moretto da Brescia</span> Italian painter (c. 1498 – c. 1554)

Alessandro Bonvicino, more commonly known as Moretto, or in Italian Il Moretto da Brescia, was an Italian Renaissance painter from Brescia, where he also mostly worked. His dated works span the period from 1524 to 1554, but he was already described as a master in 1516. He was mainly a painter of altarpieces that tend towards sedateness, mostly for churches in and around Brescia, but also in Bergamo, Milan, Verona, and Asola; many remain in the churches they were painted for. The majority of these are on canvas, but a considerable number, including some large pieces, are created on wood panels. There are only a few surviving drawings from the artist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bernardino Luini</span> Italian painter (c. 1480/82–1532)

Bernardino Luini was a north Italian painter from Leonardo's circle during the High Renaissance. Both Luini and Giovanni Antonio Boltraffio were said to have worked with Leonardo directly; he was described as having taken "as much from Leonardo as his native roots enabled him to comprehend". Consequently, many of his works were attributed to Leonardo. He was known especially for his graceful female figures with elongated eyes, called Luinesque by Vladimir Nabokov.

<i>Lady with an Ermine</i> Painting by Leonardo da Vinci, 1489–1491

The Lady with an Ermine is a portrait painting by the Italian Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci. Dated to c. 1489–1491, the work is painted in oils on a panel of walnut wood. Its subject is Cecilia Gallerani, a mistress of Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan; Leonardo was painter to the Sforza court in Milan at the time of its execution. It is the second of only four surviving portraits of women painted by Leonardo, the others being Ginevra de' Benci, La Belle Ferronnière and the Mona Lisa.

<i>Portrait of a Musician</i> Unfinished painting by Leonardo da Vinci (1483–1487)

The Portrait of a Musician is an unfinished painting by the Italian Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci, dated to c. 1483–1487. Produced while Leonardo was in Milan, the work is painted in oils, and perhaps tempera, on a small panel of walnut wood. It is his only known male portrait painting, and the identity of its sitter has been closely debated among scholars.

<i>Bacchus</i> (Leonardo) Painting attributed to Leonardo da Vinci

Bacchus, originally Saint John the Baptist, is a painting in the Musée du Louvre, Paris, France, by the Italian Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci and Francesco Melzi, while in Leonardo's workshop. Sydney J. Freedberg assigns the drawing to Leonardo's second Milan period. Among the Lombard painters who have been suggested as possible authors are Cesare da Sesto, Marco d'Oggiono, Francesco Melzi, and Cesare Bernazzano. The painting shows a male figure with garlanded head and leopard skin, seated in an idyllic landscape. He points with his right hand off to his left, and with his left hand grasps his thyrsus and also points down to earth.

<i>The Baptism of Christ</i> (Verrocchio and Leonardo) Painting by Andrea del Verrocchio and Leonardo da Vinci

The Baptism of Christ is an oil-on-panel painting finished around 1475 in the studio of the Italian Renaissance painter Andrea del Verrocchio and generally ascribed to him and his pupil Leonardo da Vinci. Some art historians discern the hands of other members of Verrocchio's workshop in the painting as well.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Giovanni Antonio Boltraffio</span> Italian painter (1467–1516)

Giovanni Antonio Boltraffio was an Italian painter of the High Renaissance from Lombardy, who worked in the studio of Leonardo da Vinci. Boltraffio and Bernardino Luini are the strongest artistic personalities to emerge from Leonardo's studio. According to Giorgio Vasari, he was of an aristocratic family and was born in Milan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Giovanni Ambrogio de Predis</span> Italian painter

Giovanni Ambrogio de Predis was an Italian Renaissance painter, illuminator and designer of coins active in Milan. Ambrogio gained a reputation as a portraitist, including as a painter of miniatures, at the court of Ludovico Sforza.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Themes in Italian Renaissance painting</span>

This article about the development of themes in Italian Renaissance painting is an extension to the article Italian Renaissance painting, for which it provides additional pictures with commentary. The works encompassed are from Giotto in the early 14th century to Michelangelo's Last Judgement of the 1530s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bernardino de' Conti</span> Italian painter (1465–1525)

Bernardino de 'Conti was an Italian Renaissance painter, born in 1465 in Castelseprio and died around 1525.

<i>La Scapigliata</i> Painting by Leonardo da Vinci

La Scapigliata is an unfinished painting generally attributed to the Italian High Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci, and dated c. 1506–1508. Painted in oil, umber, and white lead pigments on a small poplar wood panel, its attribution remains controversial, with several experts attributing the work to a pupil of Leonardo. The painting has been admired for its captivating beauty, mysterious demeanor, and mastery of sfumato.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leonardeschi</span> Group of artists who worked under the influence of Leonardo da Vinci

The Leonardeschi were the large group of artists who worked in the studio of, or under the influence of, Leonardo da Vinci. They were artists of Italian Renaissance painting, although his influence extended to many countries within Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Francesco Grande</span> Demolished church in Milan

The Church of San Francesco Grande was an ancient church in Milan built in the 4th century and demolished in 1806. It was originally called Basilica di San Nabore after the saint whose remains it houses, but from the 13th century onwards, as the adjoining Franciscan monastery took possession of the monument, it took its new name from Francis of Assisi, founder of the order.

<i>Angel musicians</i> (National Gallery) Panels for the Virgin of the Rocks

The Angel musicians are two paintings created in the late 15th century to frame Leonardo da Vinci's Virgin of the Rocks. Their purpose was to decorate the side panels of the Altarpiece in the Chapel of the Immaculate Conception, created to decorate a chapel in the Church of San Francesco Grande in Milan. Separated from their original altarpiece at the very end of the 18th century, they have been in the National Gallery in London since 1898.

<i>Altarpiece in the Chapel of the Immaculate Conception</i> Altarpiece by Giacomo del Maino

The altarpiece in the Chapel of the Immaculate Conception in the Church of San Francesco Grande, Milan, was an altarpiece built between 1480 and 1482, decorated between 1483 and 1508, and dismantled in the early 19th century.

<i>Tête denfant de trois quarts à droite</i> Drawing by Leonardo da Vinci

The Tête d'enfant de trois quarts à droite is a silverpoint drawing on paper by the Florentine painter Leonardo da Vinci. It belongs to the Codex Vallardi and is preserved at the Department of Graphic Arts of the Louvre Museum in Paris.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Laborie, Séverine. "The Virgin of the Rocks". Louvre.fr. Musée du Louvre. Retrieved 2013-07-17.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Davies, Martin (1961). The earlier Italian schools. Publications Dept., National Gallery. ISBN   9780901791290.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Angela Ottino della Chiesa, p. 94
  4. 1 2 Tamsyn Taylor, Leonardo da Vinci and the "Virgin of the Rocks" Archived 2018-07-03 at the Wayback Machine and Comparison of style Archived 2014-12-24 at the Wayback Machine
  5. 1 2 Kemp, pp. 250–251
  6. 1 2 3 "The Virgin of the Rocks: Da Vinci decoded", Jonathan Jones, The Guardian , 13 July 2010
  7. ↑ "The daffodil code: doubts revived over Leonardo’s Virgin of the Rocks in London", Dalya Alberge, The Guardian , 9 December 2014
  8. ↑ Alberge, Dalya (2014-12-09). "The daffodil code: doubts revived over Leonardo's Virgin of the Rocks in London". The Guardian. Retrieved 2018-06-17.
  9. ↑ Vezzosi (2010-04-16). Léonard de Vinci. doi:10.14375/np.9782070348800. ISBN   9782070348800.
  10. 1 2 "S. Franceso Altarpiece". Nationalgallery.org.uk. Archived from the original on 2013-06-23. Retrieved 2013-07-17.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Angela Ottino della Chiesa, The Complete Paintings of Leonardo da Vinci pp. 93–95
  12. 1 2 Angela Ottino della Chiesa, p. 93
  13. ↑ Wasserman, p 110
  14. ↑ Raccolta vinciana presso l'Archivio storico del Comune di Milano (in Italian). Milan. 1905. p. 82. Retrieved 27 August 2020.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  15. ↑ "The Lansdowne Family | Marquess of Lansdowne | Bowood House". Bowood House . Retrieved 27 August 2020.
  16. 1 2 "The Hidden Leonardo". Nationalgallery.org.uk. Retrieved 2013-07-17.
  17. ↑ White, Susan D. (2006). Draw Like Da Vinci. London: Cassell Illustrated. ISBN   9781844034444. p. 137.
  18. ↑ "New Leonardo picture discovered". BBC News. July 1, 2005.
  19. ↑ Cann, George; Bourached, Anthony; Griffiths, Ryan-Rhys; Stork, David (2021-01-30). "Resolution enhancement in the recovery of underdrawings via style transfer by generative adversarial deep neural networks". arXiv: 2102.00209 [cs.CV].
  20. ↑ "Leonardo's 'Virgin of the Rocks' back on display". Nationalgallery.org.uk. 2011-11-09. Archived from the original on 2018-01-15. Retrieved 2013-07-17.
  21. 1 2 "Leonardo's 'Virgin of the Rocks' paintings united". Nationalgallery.org.uk. Archived from the original on 2012-02-03. Retrieved 2013-07-17.
  22. ↑ The Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 2, verses 13–15
  23. ↑ Graham-Dixon, Andrew (23 October 2011). "The mystery of Leonardo's two Madonnas". www.telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 30 November 2019. The later picture is more idealised and the angel Uriel is no longer pointing at the St John. But why?
  24. ↑ Paoletti and Radke, p. 79
  25. ↑ Paoletti and Radke, p. 261
  26. ↑ David Thompson, Raphael, the Life and Legacy, BBC, (1983), ISBN   0-563-20149-5
  27. ↑ Ludwig Goldscheider, Michelangelo: Paintings, Sculptures, Architecture, Phaidon, (!964)
  28. ↑ Clark, p. 51
  29. 1 2 Jack Wasserman, pp. 108–118
  30. ↑ Graham-Dixon, Andrew (23 October 2011). "The mystery of the two Madonnas". Sunday Telegraph.
  31. ↑ Leonardo da Vinci: An Account of his development as an Artist
  32. ↑ Luke Syson interviewed by Alistair Sooke, The Virgin of the Rocks compared , accessed 2011-12-12
  33. 1 2 3 4 Billinge, Syson and Spring, Altered Angels accessed 2012-02-06
  34. ↑ Paoletti and Radke, p. 362
  35. ↑ Kemp, Zöllner and others
  36. ↑ Wasserman, p. 108
  37. ↑ Clark, pp. 49–53
  38. ↑ Angela Ottino della Chiesa, p. 95
  39. 1 2 National Gallery, Virgin of the Rocks
  40. ↑ Zöllner F, Leonardo da Vinci, Taschen, (2003) p. 223
  41. ↑ Tamsyn Taylor, Summary of the case Archived 2014-12-24 at the Wayback Machine
  42. ↑ Wasserman, p. 114; Marco Rosci, p. 55
  43. ↑ Pizzorusso, Ann. Leonardo's Geology: The Authenticity of the "Virgin of the Rocks, pp. 197–200
  44. ↑ T. Taylor, Leonardo and the "Virgin of the Rocks", The Geology Archived 2014-11-06 at the Wayback Machine
  45. ↑ Marani, P. C. (2010). Leonardiana: studi e saggi su Leonardo da Vinci. Italy: Skira.
  46. ↑ Pedretti, C. (2017). Leonardo da Vinci: the "Virgin of the rocks" in the Cheramy version : its history & critical fortune. Italy: CB edizioni.
  47. ↑ "After Leonardo da Vinci, The Madonna of the Rocks, c.1508-160

Bibliography

External videos
Nuvola apps kaboodle.svg Leonardo's Virgin of the Rocks, Smarthistory, Khan Academy
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.