Leonardo Da Vinci's The Virgin of the Rocks

In The Virgin of the Rocks, Leonardo Da Vinci derivates from the meticulous observed naturalism to a more generic depiction of the rocky setting and plants while he plays more assiduous attention to the crepuscular fall of light and the sculptural relief of the figures,however the hand of the angel supporting the Christ Child's back is one of the several areas which Leonardo Da Vinci left less than completely resolved.

The Virgin of the Rocks about 1491/2-9 and 1506-8. Leonardo da Vinci's The Virgin of the Rocks painting is part of the group: Panels from the S. Francesco Altarpiece, Milan An elaborate sculpted altar commissioned by the Milanese Confraternity of the Immaculate Conception for their oratory in San Francesco in 1480. A new contract was drawn up in 1483 with Leonardo and the de Predis brothers: a central panel was to be painted by Leonardo alone, and there were to be two side panels showing angels singing and playing musical instruments. Two paintings of angels (An Angel in Green with a Vielle and An Angel in Red with a Lute) by artists influenced by Leonardo, are undoubtedly those for the altarpiece. The Virgin of the Rocks seems not to refer to the mystery of the Immaculate Conception, but depicts the type of subject that Leonardo might have painted in his native Florence where legends concerning the young Saint John the Baptist were popular. Execution of the commission was protracted. Leonardo may only have put the finishing touches to it in 1508. The finished work was then sent to France, (now Paris, Louvre). Leonardo Da Vinci painted a replacement for San Francesco that was probably completed with some help from his studio in 1508, and which is now in the National Gallery Collection.

Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519) Cartoon for the head of the infant Saint John the Baptist,

Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519) Idealised Head of a Young Woman.

 The drawing of Idealised Head of a Young Woman reproduces the details of Leonardo da Vinci's the Virgin of the Rocks The details reproduced include the raking fall of light and the hairline of her hair,but the bulging eyes and the woman's fleshiness of face mark the work as Da Vinci's unknown follower Pala Sforzesca named after an altarpice.

Leonardo Da Vinci's The Virgin of the Rocks

Leonardo Da Vinci Portrait of a Young Man (‘The Musician’), about 1486-7 Oil on walnut

Leonardo Da Vinci

Leonardo Da Vinci

Leonardo Da Vinci

Leonardo Da Vinci : The Last Supper

Leonardo Da Vinci The Burlington House Cartoon

The Burlington House Cartoon about 1499-1500, Leonardo da Vinci width3143.8125height4225.921875x199y Leonardo Da Vinci depicts the Virgin Mary seated on the lap of her mother, Saint Anne wwith the Christ Child and infant Saint John. The Christ Child blesses his cousin Saint John the Baptist (the child on the right). Leonardo also treated the meeting of the two children in his two paintings of the Virgin of the Rocks. Both works are set in a wild mountainous landscape. Saint Anne’s gesture, her finger pointing to heaven, alludes to Christ’s future destiny. Since she does not look very old and seems intimately related to Saint John the Baptist, many scholars have proposed that she is Saint Elizabeth, the Baptist’s mother. However, there is no tradition of placing the Virgin upon Elizabeth’s lap, whereas Saint Anne was often represented in this way. Leonardo Da Vinci uses charcoal and white chalk to make the figures monumental and sculptural,however some parts are left in line outline.The simple perfection of these unfinished elements,most clearly seen in the hand of Saint Anne pointing towards heaven,suggests that the act of drawing can be seen as divinely inspired. This large drawing is a cartoon, that is, a full-size preparatory study for a painting. Usually, in order to transfer a design onto a panel, the outlines of cartoons were pricked or incised. This example is intact. It must have been preserved in its own right as a finished drawing, although some areas have deliberately been left inconclusive or in rough outline. A cartoon of a similar subject by Leonardo drew huge crowds when it was publicly displayed in Florence in 1501. This was probably made for the painting now in the Louvre, Paris. The National Gallery’s cartoon may have been executed slightly earlier in Milan, perhaps after the French invasion of the city. Many artists drew inspiration from these complex and atmospheric drawings.

Leonardo Da Vinci :The Last Supper