Virgin of the Rocks

The Virgin of the Rocks (Italian: Vergine delle rocce), sometimes called the Madonna of the Rocks, is the name of two famous paintings made by the Italian Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci. Both paintings show the same scene, but they have some important differences in details. The version most people think is the main one is kept in the Louvre in Paris, while the other one, which was fixed up between 2008 and 2010, is in the National Gallery in London. These artworks are often called the Louvre Virgin of the Rocks and the London Virgin of the Rocks.

Both paintings are almost 2 metres (over 6 feet) tall and were painted using oil paints. They originally were on wooden boards, but the one in the Louvre has been moved to canvas. In each painting, you can see the Virgin Mary and the baby Jesus together with the young John the Baptist and an angel named Uriel. They are all standing in a rocky landscape, which is why the paintings have their name.

There are many small differences between the two paintings, like the colors used, how the light shines on things, and the plants shown in the background. The way the angel looks and moves its right hand is also different in each painting. Even though we know when the paintings were first asked for, we do not fully know the whole history of either painting, which makes people wonder which one was painted first. Two more small paintings, showing angels playing musical instruments, were also made as part of the same project and are kept in the National Gallery in London.

The paintings

Louvre version

The Virgin of the Rocks in the Louvre is thought to be the older of the two paintings, made around 1483–1486. Experts believe Leonardo da Vinci painted it all by himself. It is a bit taller than the other version. We first know about this painting from 1625, when it was owned by the French royal family. Many think Leonardo created this painting to complete a job he got in Milan in 1483. Some guess he sold this one himself and made the other one later to finish the job. There are many ideas about why there are two paintings. This one is a great example of Leonardo’s special painting style called “sfumato”.

London version

There is a very similar painting at the National Gallery in London, also said to be by Leonardo da Vinci, and it may have been made before 1508. At first, people thought Leonardo’s helpers painted some parts, but after looking closely at the painting during work done between 2008 and 2010, experts now think Leonardo did most of it himself. Still, some wonder if others helped, maybe one of Leonardo’s helpers named Giovanni Ambrogio de Predis and perhaps Evangelista.

This painting was made for a chapel in Milan. The church sold it, probably in 1781, and by 1785, a man named Gavin Hamilton bought it and took it to England. It moved through many collections before the National Gallery bought it in 1880.

Angels

Main article: Angel musicians (National Gallery)

Two paintings of angels playing musical instruments are thought to have been part of the big painting setup. These two pictures, now in the National Gallery, London, are believed to have been finished between 1490 and 1495. One angel in red may be the work of Ambrogio de Predis while the angel in green might be by another helper of Leonardo, maybe Francesco Napoletano.

History

Chapel of the Immaculate Conception

The Chapel of the Immaculate Conception was built before 1335 by Beatrice d'Este, wife of Gian Galeazzo Visconti, Duke of Milan. The chapel was part of the church of San Francesco Grande in Milan.

In 1479, a group called the Confraternity of the Immaculate Conception asked artists to decorate the chapel's ceiling. In 1480, they asked another artist to make a big wooden altarpiece with space for paintings and carvings to put above the chapel's altar. The final payment for this work was planned for August 7, 1482.

Commission for the painting

On April 25, 1483, leaders of the Confraternity asked Leonardo da Vinci and brothers Ambrogio and Evangelista de Predis to create painted panels for the altarpiece. The contract did not clearly say what each artist should do. Leonardo was called "Master" in the contract. Ambrogio de Predis was also a painter, and Evangelista de Predis likely helped prepare the colors.

The contract described the details of the painting, including colors and gold decorations. The main painting was to show the Virgin Mary and the Christ child, with two prophets, probably David and Isaiah, surrounded by angels. Above them would be a small painting of God and the Virgin Mary, and below that, a painting of the crib. The relief figures were to be painted brightly and covered in gold. On each side of the main painting would be panels showing angels playing music and singing. The work was to be finished by December 8, 1483, the Feast Day of the Immaculate Conception, giving the artists seven months.

Payment

On May 1, 1483, the artists received an initial payment of 100 Lire. They then received payments of 40 Lire each month from July 1483 to February 1485, totaling 800 Lire. A final payment was to be agreed upon when the work was finished and delivered in December 1483.

Between 1490 and 1495, Ambrogio and Leonardo wrote to the Confraternity, saying the main painting had cost all 800 Lire and asking for an additional 1,200 Lire as the contract stated. The Confraternity offered only 100 Lire. Leonardo and Ambrogio asked Ludovico Sforza, the Duke of Milan, to help them. They suggested that experts should check the altarpiece and decide on the final payment. The artists also said that if they could not agree on the price, they would take the artwork back.

In 1503, Ambrogio asked for payment again, on behalf of himself and the heirs of his deceased brother, Evangelista. On March 9, 1503, Louis XII of France, who had invaded Lombardy in 1499, wrote to the leader of Milan asking him to help the artists. On June 23, 1503, the Confraternity wrote a document arguing against de Predis' request for an evaluation or the return of the painting. On April 27, 1506, an evaluation was done. It was decided that the work was still not finished. Leonardo was asked to complete it, but he was still not in Milan.

On August 18, 1508, the painting was put in place. On August 7, 1507, and October 23, 1508, Ambrogio received two payments totaling 200 Lire. Leonardo wrote about receiving this payment.

1524–2011

National Gallery painting

In 1524 and 1576, The Virgin of the Rocks in the Chapel of the Immaculate Conception, likely the London version, was used to ask for protection from a disease called the plague. In 1576, the altarpiece was taken from the chapel, which was torn down. In mid-1785, a Scottish painter and seller named Gavin Hamilton paid 1,582 Lire to buy The Virgin of the Rocks from Alessandro, Count Cicogna, who was in charge of the religious group that took over from the Confraternity of the Immaculate Conception. Hamilton's family later sold the painting to Lord Lansdowne, who had many debts. After Lord Lansdowne died in 1805, his son John had to sell most of his father's collections, and the painting was bought 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. At that time, some experts thought the painting was by Leonardo, while others thought it was by Bernardino Luini.

In June 2005, the painting was examined using a special imaging technique called infra-red reflectogram. This showed a rough sketch of a different painting underneath the visible one. The sketch shows a woman, probably kneeling, with her right hand out and her left on her heart. Some researchers think the artist originally planned to paint a scene showing people worshipping the baby Jesus. In 2021, a company called Oxia Palus used computer methods to recreate this hidden sketch using all the works of Leonardeschi paintings. Many other hidden sketches can be seen using x-ray or infra-red examination.

In 2009/2010, the painting was cleaned and repaired, and it went back on display in July 2010. The National Gallery announced that the cleaning showed the painting was mostly, maybe entirely, by Leonardo, and that some parts were not finished. The full report on these findings was published later in 2010.

Louvre painting

In 1625, the Virgin of the Rocks now in the Louvre was seen at Fontainebleau by Cassiano dal Pozzo. In 1806, a French restorer named Fr Hacquin moved the Louvre Virgin of the Rocks from its wooden panel to canvas. For a short time in 2011–12, it was displayed with the London painting as part of an exhibition in the National Gallery about Leonardo's work for the court of Ludovico Sforza.

Side panels

The two panels from the finished altarpiece showing angels playing musical instruments were bought by the National Gallery, London in 1898.

Subject

The two paintings show the baby Jesus being adored by the baby John the Baptist. This idea comes from old stories about the Holy Family’s trip to Egypt. The Gospel of Matthew tells us that Joseph was warned in a dream that King Herod would try to harm the baby Jesus. Joseph was told to take Jesus and his mother, Mary, to a safe place far away.

There are extra stories about this trip. One tells how John the Baptist, who was related to Jesus, was taken to Egypt by an angel and met the Holy Family along the way. In the paintings, the scene happens in front of rocky landscapes, which is why they are called the Virgin of the Rocks. Many famous artists in Florence painted pictures of Mary, Jesus, and John the Baptist together.

Description

The Virgin of the Rocks is the name given to two paintings by Leonardo da Vinci. Both paintings show the same scene but have some differences.

Both paintings show four people: the Virgin Mary, the baby Jesus, the young John the Baptist, and an angel. They are arranged in a triangle shape against a background of rocks and a faraway landscape. In both paintings, Mary is at the top of the group. She reaches one hand out toward John and raises the other above Jesus' head as if giving a blessing. John kneels and looks at Jesus, with his hands together as if praying. Jesus sits in front, held up by the angel, and raises his hand in a sign of blessing toward John.

The paintings differ in several ways. The figures in the London painting are a bit larger than in the Louvre painting. In the London painting, the angel's hand rests on its knee, while in the Louvre painting, the hand is raised with the finger pointing toward John. The angel's eyes look down in the London painting but look toward the viewer in the Louvre painting. The London painting shows more details in the forms of the people and the rocks, with sharper lighting and shading. The Louvre painting has softer, warmer lighting and more gentle, blended shapes and faces. The colours of the angel's clothing also differ, with the London angel not wearing red, while the Louvre angel wears bright red and green robes. The London painting lacks some traditional details like haloes and John's staff that appear in the Louvre painting. The flowers in each painting also look different, with the Louvre flowers looking like real plants and the London flowers being more imaginary creations.

Main article: Angel musicians (National Gallery)

There are also two paintings of angels that go with the Virgin of the Rocks, kept in the National Gallery. These paintings were meant to show four angels each, but only two musicians are shown. One angel, wearing green, plays a musical instrument called a vielle, and the other, wearing red, plays a lute. Both angels are turned the same way and are playing instruments. One angel in red is thought to be painted by Ambrogio de Predis. The other angel in green was painted by someone who worked with Leonardo, possibly Francesco Napoletano. Both angel paintings show the angel standing in a grey frame. One painting had a landscape hidden under the grey paint, but the other could not be seen because the grey paint was too thick. It used to be thought that these angel paintings were placed next to the main painting, but a recent article suggests they were placed higher up on the altarpiece.

Interpretation

The two paintings known as the Virgin of the Rocks have sparked many discussions among art experts. Questions remain about when each painting was created, who painted them, and what their symbols mean. In 2011 and 2012, both paintings were displayed together for the first time in an exhibition at the National Gallery.

Most experts believe the painting at the Louvre in Paris is the earlier one, while the one at the National Gallery in London is later. Some think the Louvre painting was started before 1483, while others believe it was completed around that time. The London painting is often thought to have been created as a replacement for the Louvre version, but not everyone agrees.

The Louvre painting is widely accepted as entirely by Leonardo da Vinci. The London painting is believed to have been designed by Leonardo but mostly painted by his assistants, though recent cleaning suggests more of Leonardo's hand may be present than previously thought.

Copies and derivations

Artists have made many versions of The Virgin of the Rocks. One early copy is called the Paliotto leonardesco, which is kept in the Museo Baroffio. Another copy from around 1494–8 is in the Cheramy Collection.

Other artists inspired by this painting include Bernardino Luini, whose work Holy Family and St. John is in the Museo del Prado in Madrid, and Marco d’Oggiono, who painted the Thuelin Madonna. Joos van Cleve and Quentin Matsys also created works based on this painting. A 16th-century copy was given to Queen Victoria in 1847 by her husband Prince Albert.