Virgin of the Rocks

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Madonna of the Rocks
Leonardo Da Vinci, 1495-1508
Oil on panel
189.5 × 120 cm, 74.6 × 47.25 inches
National Gallery, London


The Virgin of the Rocks
Leonardo Da Vinci, 1483-1486
Oil on panel (transferred to canvas)
199 × 122 cm, 78.3 × 48.0 inches
Louvre, Paris

The Virgin of the Rocks and Madonna of the Rocks are alternate titles used for both of two different paintings with almost identical compositions. There is still some controversy over whether both paintings are by Leonardo da Vinci, but there is a widespread consensus that he did large amounts of work on both of them.

1 The paintings
- 1.1 In the National Gallery, London
- 1.2 In the Louvre
2 History of the paintings
3 Use in The Da Vinci Code
4 Derivations
5 External links
6 References

[edit] The paintings

[edit] In the National Gallery, London

This is a painting accredited to Leonardo da Vinci, between 1495 and 1508. It was stolen from Florence during the Napoleonic wars and recovered in a small town in Austria some 50 years afterwards. It was bought by a French merchant before being sold to the National Gallery in London later in the 19th century.

In June 2005, infra-red reflectogram imaging seemingly revealed a previous painting beneath the visible one. This is believed to portray a woman kneeling possibly holding a child with one hand with the other hand outstretched. Some researchers believe that the artist's original intention was to paint an adoration of the infant Jesus.^[1]

[edit] In the Louvre

An almost identical painting is in the Louvre, painted around 1483-1486. French authorities claim predominantly that the work is authentic, due to the fine brush work and use of chiaroscuro, or contrast between light and dark, characteristic of many of Leonardo's works. Most art historians take the view that the Louvre version is indeed largely by Leonardo, and is the earlier of the two works.

[edit] History of the paintings

In 1480 Leonardo was commissioned by the Milanese Confraternity of the Immaculate Conception to paint a work celebrating the Immaculate conception. In 1483 the contract was extended to include collaboration with the brothers Ambrogio and Evangelista de Predis, who would produce side-panels depicting angels, so that the painting became a triptych. The completed work was finally installed in 1508. It seems as though the original work was sold to a private client after a lengthy financial dispute with the confraternity. A second version was eventually produced by Leonardo and his assistants, which was installed with the de Predises's side-panels.

The paintings seem to draw on a legend of the meeting between the baby Jesus and John the Baptist on the flight into Egypt. According to the standard interpretation of the paintings, they depict the Madonna in the centre ushering John towards Jesus, who is seated with the angel Uriel. Jesus is blessing John, who holds out his hands in a gesture of prayer. In the Louvre version, Uriel points towards John while looking out at the viewer. This gesture is missing in the London version. The London version also contains attributes missing from the Louvre version, notably haloes and John's traditional cruciform stick. These clarify the identification of the babies Jesus and John, and were added by another artist, probably after Leonardo's death.

It is generally believed that the Louvre version is the earlier work, because it is stylistically close to Leonardo's other work of the 1480s. The London painting suggests Leonardo's maturer style, but it is thought likely to have been painted with the assistance of other artists, perhaps the de Predises.

Both versions were painted on wood. The Louvre version was transferred to canvas from the original wooden panel but the London painting is still on panel.

The authenticity of the London painting has been called in question by geologist Ann C. Pizzorusso, who argues its geological inaccuracies, unlike the Louvre version, mean it is unlikely to have come from Leonardo's own hand.

[edit] Use in The Da Vinci Code

In the popular novel The Da Vinci Code, written by the American novelist Dan Brown, it is claimed that the earlier Louvre version contained hidden symbolism which contradicted orthodox Christian belief, notably the fact that Jesus is shown praying to John rather than the other way round (the novel implies that the baby at the left must be Jesus rather than John, because he is with the Madonna). It is also claimed that the Virgin appears to be holding an invisible head and that Uriel appears to be "slicing the neck" with his finger. For this reason the painting was rejected by the Church, and a second, more orthodox, version was painted.

However, historical evidence shows that these claims are completely unfounded. The only significant compositional difference between the two versions (excluding the later addition of attributes) is the fact that Uriel no longer points. However this difference may well be explained by the possibility that the distinction between Jesus and John was thought to be insufficiently clear in the earlier picture because John is with the Madonna, and that the pointing gesture directed too much attention to John.

As for the painting being "too scandalous" to show in a church, Leonardo and de Predises actually wanted more money from the church than had been originally agreed. The church agreed to pay a substantial bonus but not as much as Leonardo and de Predises wanted. So Leonardo and de Predises sold it to a private collector and then made a second copy. So popular (not scandalous) did these paintings prove that it is believed that they painted a third version, namely, the one kept today in the Chéramy Collection in Switzerland.

[edit] Derivations

In her 1967 book (published in English in 1985) Angela Ottino della Chiesa cites four derivations of The Virgin of the Rocks. The Holy Family and St. John by Bernardino Luini in the Prado in Milan, 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 are all shown in 'thumbnail' form, but can be found by searching on www. Only Leonardo was capable of taking the form of the Virgin of the Rocks and removing Mary and the Angel Uriel to leave the two Holy Children, Jesus and St.John the Baptist in a humanist embrace. This image was much copied by Flemish artists such as Joos van Cleve and Quentin Messys - there is a small painting in Chatsworth by the latter. The name on the frame is LEONARDO DA VINCI, showing that at one time, this Flemish work was once attributed to the Master, Leonardo. Angela is an authority on Bernardino Luini; here work The Complete Paintings of Leonardo da Vinci (introduced by Leopold Ettlinger) is more readily available than Leonardo da Vinci; The Complete Paintings by Pietro C. Marani (Abrams - New York, 2000)