Louvre musée THE VIRGIN OF THE ROCKS
THE VIRGIN OF THE ROCKS
The first work that Leonardo da Vinci Executed in Milano is the so called “Virgin of the Rocks”. It was executed around 1483 – 1486. Leonardo was commissioned by the Milanese Confraternity of the Immaculate Conception to paint a work celebrating the Immaculate Conception. (dogma that affirms that Mary was conceived without original sin)
The work includes the collaboration of the brothers Ambrogio and Envagelista de Predis who would produce side- panel depicting angels, so that the painting became a triptych. (carved wooden altar with frames were paintings are inserted)
The work was sold to a private client, (without more information) and a second version was eventually produced by Leonardo and his assistants, now a days property of the National Gallery in London.
Oil on panel (transferred to canvas) 199 x 122 cm 78.8 X 48 inches
The painting seems to draw on a meeting between the baby Jesus and John the Baptist on the flight to Egypt.
Description
The painting depicts the Madonna in the centre ushering John towards Jesus
John is holding out his hands in a gesture of prayer
Jesus is seated with the angel Uriel,
Jesus is blessing John
Uriel points towards John while looking out at the viewer (it is an invitation to get into the painting)
The figures are subjected to a strict spatial arrangement called
PYRAMIDAL COMPOSITION
In this composition Leonardo expresses time; babies, adults and the rocks (old age)
For the first time, Leonardo could achieve in painting the intellectual program of fusion between human forms and nature.
No thrones or architectural structures; instead there are the rocks of a grotto, reflected in limpid waters, decorated by leaves of various kinds from different plants.
In the distance, as if emerging from a mist composed of very fine droplets and filtered by the golden sunlight, we discover the peaks of the mountains.
That effect is given by the use of a technique called SFUMATO
Sfumato is a term used by Italians to refer to a painting technique which overlays translucent layers of colour to create perception of depth, volume and form.
In particular it refers to the blending of colours or tones to pass from one tone to the other with no perceptible transition.
In Italian sfumato means “vanished” with connotation of “smoky”
Leonardo da Vinci describes sfumato as “without lines or borders”
Leonardo da Vinci published an essay about light and shade, and applied for the first time the principles of this technique known as CHAROSCURO,
1) The technique of using light and shade in pictorial representation
2) The arrangement of light and dark elements in a pictorial work of art
Leonardo da Vinci brought this technique to its full potential in this painting.
The figures emerge from the darkness and are suddenly illuminated
Light comes from the left inferior angle
By playing with light and shade over the bodies, they acquire volume, so that they are not flat figures anymore.
The Madonna extends the hand giving an impression of depth.
USE IN THE DAVINCI CODE (by 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 rarying 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 Uriel appears to be slicing the neck with his finger. For this reason, the painting was rejected by the church