The
Virgin of the Rocks is the name used for both of two paintings by
Leonardo da VinciLeonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was an Italian Renaissance polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist and writer whose genius, perhaps more than that of any other figure, epitomized the Renaissance...
, of the same subject, and of a composition which is identical except for two significant details. The paintings normally hang in the
LouvreThe Musée du Louvre – in English, the Louvre Museum or simply the Louvre – is one of the world's largest museums, the most visited art museum in the world and a historic monument. A central landmark of Paris, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement...
, Paris, and the National Gallery, London, but for a few months in late 2011 and early 2012 have been brought together in an exhibition at the National Gallery.
Louvre version
The
Virgin of the Rocks which usually hangs in the Louvre painted is considered by most art historians to be the earlier of the two and date from around 1483-1486. Most authorities agree that the work is entirely by Leonardo. It is about 8 cm (3 in) taller than the London version. The first certain record of this picture is in 1625, when it was in the French royal collection. It is believed that this painting was produced to fulfill a commission of 1483 in Milan. It is thought that this painting was privately sold by Leonardo and the London version painted at a later date to fill the commission. This painting is a perfect example of Leonardo's "
sfumatoSfumato is one of the four canonical painting modes of the Renaissance .The most prominent practitioner of sfumato was Leonardo da Vinci, and his famous painting of the Mona Lisa exhibits the technique. Leonardo da Vinci described sfumato as "without lines or borders, in the manner of smoke or...
" technique.
London version
A very similar painting is in the National Gallery ascribed to Leonardo da Vinci, probably before 1508. Originally thought to have been partially painted by Leonardo's assistants, recent studies have revealed that it may have been painted by Leonardo alone. It was painted for the chapel of the Confraternity of the Immaculate Conception, in the church of San Francesco Maggiore in
MilanMilan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
. It was sold by the church, very likely in 1781, and certainly by 1785, when it was bought by
Gavin HamiltonGavin Hamilton was a Scottish neoclassical history painterwho is more widely remembered for his hunts for antiquities in the neighborhood of Rome...
, who took it to England. After passing through various collections, it was bought by the National Gallery in 1880.
In June 2005, infra-red reflectogram imaging 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. Many other pentimenti are visible under
x-rayX-radiation is a form of electromagnetic radiation. X-rays have a wavelength in the range of 0.01 to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30 petahertz to 30 exahertz and energies in the range 120 eV to 120 keV. They are shorter in wavelength than UV rays and longer than gamma...
or infra-red examination. In 2009/2010 the painting underwent cleaning and conservation work, returning to display in July 2010. The National Gallery, in a preliminary announcement of the results of the work, said that it revealed the painting was largely, possibly entirely, by Leonardo, and unfinished in parts. The full publication of the findings was released later in 2010.
Commission and execution
On April 25, 1483 Leonardo and the brothers Ambrogio and Evangelista de Predis were commissioned by the Milanese Confraternity of the Immaculate Conception to paint a work celebrating the
Immaculate ConceptionThe Immaculate Conception of Mary is a dogma of the Roman Catholic Church, according to which the Virgin Mary was conceived without any stain of original sin. It is one of the four dogmata in Roman Catholic Mariology...
for their new chapel. The contract survives, as does much of the documentation from the later disputes over it. There had already been a previous contract in 1480 with Giacomo del Maino, which had evidently not been completed; among the work stipulated in the second contract was the completion and gilding of various carvings for the wooden framework of the altarpiece (none known to survive). Three paintings were stipulated, a central
Virgin and Child and two side panels with angels, described only in the earlier contract with del Maino. These panels are also in the National Gallery, with different
provenanceProvenance, from the French provenir, "to come from", refers to the chronology of the ownership or location of an historical object. The term was originally mostly used for works of art, but is now used in similar senses in a wide range of fields, including science and computing...
s from the main panel, and were painted entirely by the brothers de Predis, according to both modern art historians and a contemporary statement by the brothers in the legal dispute
All the work was to be completed by the Feast of the Conception (December 8) 1483, but this did not happen. At some later date the legal dispute began; the main issue being that the main painting was unfinished, and Leonardo had left Milan. Meanwhile the de Predis brothers had completed their portion of the work, and wanted payment. The dispute was settled on April 27, 1506, with the requirement that should Leonardo return to Milan within two years he should complete the painting, and receive further specified sums beyond those in the original contract. This appears to have happened, as a sum was paid to him in 1507. The surviving documentation casts no light on the existence of two versions, nor does it give any support to claims that the clients were unhappy with the subject or treatment of the paintings. At what point the first version was diverted, or if it was at all, remains unclear, and the subject of many theories. On stylistic grounds some writers, including
Martin DaviesSir Martin Davies CBE FBA FSA was a British museum director and civil servant.Davies read mathematics and modern languages at Cambridge University. He first joined the staff of the National Gallery, the institution to which he was to devote his career, as an attaché in 1930...
, feel that 1483 is too late a date for the Louvre version; for the commission Leonardo may have simply repeated a composition he had already produced. Alternatively, the Louvre version may have been painted for the confraternity soon after the commission, and then sold to another buyer.
Subject and style
The paintings seem to draw on a legend of the meeting between the baby
JesusJesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
and
John the BaptistJohn the Baptist was an itinerant preacher and a major religious figure mentioned in the Canonical gospels. He is described in the Gospel of Luke as a relative of Jesus, who led a movement of baptism at the Jordan River...
on the
flight into EgyptThe flight into Egypt is a biblical event described in the Gospel of Matthew , in which Joseph fled to Egypt with his wife Mary and infant son Jesus after a visit by Magi because they learn that King Herod intends to kill the infants of that area...
. According to the standard interpretation of the paintings, they depict the
MadonnaMary , commonly referred to as "Saint Mary", "Mother Mary", the "Virgin Mary", the "Blessed Virgin Mary", or "Mary, Mother of God", was a Jewish woman of Nazareth in Galilee...
in the centre ushering John towards Jesus, who is seated with the angel
GabrielIn Abrahamic religions, Gabriel is an Archangel who typically serves as a messenger to humans from God.He first appears in the Book of Daniel, delivering explanations of Daniel's visions. In the Gospel of Luke Gabriel foretells the births of both John the Baptist and of Jesus...
. Jesus is blessing John, who holds out his hands in a gesture of prayer. In the Louvre version, Gabriel 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
haloesA halo is a ring of light that surrounds a person in art. They have been used in the iconography of many religions to indicate holy or sacred figures, and have at various periods also been used in images of rulers or heroes...
and John's traditional cruciform stick. These clarify the identification of the babies Jesus and John. Davies says it is "not certain" if these are contemporary; they may have been added by a later artist.
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 woodA panel painting is a painting made on a flat panel made of wood, either a single piece, or a number of pieces joined together. Until canvas became the more popular support medium in the 16th century, it was the normal form of support for a painting not on a wall or vellum, which was used for...
. While the Louvre version was transferred to canvas from the original wooden panel, the London painting is still on panel. Several
drawingDrawing is a form of visual art that makes use of any number of drawing instruments to mark a two-dimensional medium. Common instruments include graphite pencils, pen and ink, inked brushes, wax color pencils, crayons, charcoal, chalk, pastels, markers, styluses, and various metals .An artist who...
s can be related to the paintings, although Leonardo's authorship of many is doubtful. None amount to a full study for either version.
The geologist Ann C. Pizzorusso, argues the geological inaccuracies of the London version, unlike the Louvre version, mean it is unlikely to have come from Leonardo's own hand.
Derivations
In her 1967 book (published in English in 1985) Angela Ottino della Chiesa cites four paintings derived to some degree from
The Virgin of the Rocks: the
Holy Family and St. John by
Bernardino LuiniBernardino Luini was a North Italian painter from Leonardo's circle. Both Luini and Giovanni Antonio Boltraffio were said to have worked with Leonardo directly; he was described to have taken "as much from Leonardo as his native roots enabled him to comprehend". Consequently many of his works were...
in the Prado in Madrid, the
Thuelin Madonna by Marco d'Oggiono in the Thuelin collection in Paris and the
Holy Infants EmbracingThe Holy Infants Embracing is a painting ascribed to Leonardo da Vinci, housed in the Capodimonte Gallery in Naples, southern Italy. It is thought to represent the infant Christ embracing his cousin John the Baptist...
by
Joos van CleveJoos van Cleve was a painter active in Antwerp around 1511 to 1540. He was born around 1485 and died in between 1540 and 1541...
in the
Capodimonte MuseumThe National Museum of Capodimonte is located in the Palace of Capodimonte, a grand Bourbon palazzo in Naples, Italy. The museum is the prime repository of Neapolitan painting and decorative art, with several important works from other Italian schools of painting, and some important Ancient Roman...
in Naples. This image was much copied by Flemish artists such as Joos van Cleve and Quentin Massys - 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)
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