Leonardo da Vinci's Madonna of the Rocks
While living in Milan, Leonardo was commissioned to paint a scene for the Confraternity of the Immaculate Conception, in the church of San Francesco Grande. The painting produced was one of the most intricate and intriguing religious scenes to date, and it evidently caused great commotion between the artist and its commissioners. Placing the Virgin Mary and the Christ child in a rocky cave was quite unconventional and controversial, and despite the painting's striking beauty, it seems that Leonardo may have been ordered to paint a new scene. The first version currently rests in the Louvre in Paris, while the later painting is housed in the National Gallery of Art in London. Most art historians agree that the first painting is a Leonardo original, but the second work was likely completed by Leonardo and several other artists. These paintings remain stunning in a myriad of ways. The composition of the Madonnas is exquisite – the Virgin Mary, the Angel Uriel, Christ, and John the Baptist all form a triangle, each person somehow connected to the next. The Virgin Mary has her left hand extended carefully over the head of Christ, while Uriel is gently propping him up. At the same time, she is delicately pointing to John.
Dan Brown claims that the nuns of the Confraternity of the Immaculate Conception gave Leonardo instructions regarding the theme and size of the painting, but there are no nuns in this organization, it is an all-male group. Dan Brown also claims this painting is a 5-foot high canvas when actually it is a 6.5 –feet in height. Originally it was painted on a wood panel and later transferred to canvas. The second painting now in London remains on its original wood panel.
Dan Brown makes many mistakes in interpreting this painting to support his misconceptions. He claims that the Virgin Mary on the left sits with “her arm around an infant child, presumably Baby Jesus” while Uriel on the right sits with a baby, “presumably baby John the Baptist” (The Da Vinci Code, page 138. In actuality it is just the opposite. The Virgin Mary is on the left, Uriel is on the right, the Baby Jesus is on the right being propped up by the Angel Uriel. John the Baptist is on the left and is blessing Jesus on the right.