Oil painting, 'The Virgin of the Rocks', after Leonardo da Vinci, 17th century

The Virgin Mary stands at the centre of the composition, her hand resting on the Infant St John the Baptist who is kneeling before the Child, an angel seating besides him. A group of trees is behind the Virgin while in the background is a landscape with a distant town.

Bequeathed by John M. Parsons

Bequeathed by John M. Parsons, 1870
John Meeson Parsons (1798-1870), art collector, was born in Newport, Shropshire. He later settled in London, and became a member of the stock exchange. His interest in railways led to his election as an associate of the Institution of Civil Engineers in 1839, and he was director or chairman of two railway companies between 1843 and 1848. Much of his time however was spent collecting pictures and works of art. In his will he offered his collection of mostly German and Dutch schools to the National Gallery (which selected only three works) and to the Department of Science and Art at South Kensington, later the Victoria and Albert Museum. The South Kensington Museum acquired ninety-two oil paintings and forty-seven watercolours. A number of engravings were also left to the British Museum.

Historical significance: This painting is a copy with variations, possibly of 17th-century date, of the celebrated Virgin of the Rocks, now in the National Gallery, London (N.G. 1093).

Another, autograph version of this composition is in the Louvre, Paris. The painting shows the Virgin Mary, her hand resting on the Infant St John the Baptist, who kneels before the Child Christ, next to whom is an angel. The rocks in the original pictures have been substituted for a landscape with a town in the distance, and trees are depicted in the middle distance. St John the Baptist lacks his reed cross, as does the Louvre version. Unlike the National Gallery and Louvre works, which have arched tops, the present painting is rectangular.

The original painting was commissioned by the Milanese Confraternity of the Immaculate Conception for their oratory in San Francesco, in 1480. The London version was formerly flanked by two lateral panels depicting two angels, by Leonardo's associate, Ambrogio De Predis (ca. 1455-after 1508).

It is now generally believed that the Louvre version was painted in the 1480s, but kept by the artist, and the London panel painted in the 1490s with studio assistance to honour the original commission.

The composition has been much copied since the 16th century, mostly by Lombard artists. Examples are in the Affori Church, Milan; formerly in the Hurd collection, New York; in the Pedicini-Foglianise collection, Benevento; and in the Treccani collection, Milan, attributed to Ambrogio De Predis. The present painting was tentatively dated 17th century by Martin Davies (1961) and may have been painted when the original was still in Milan.

Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) was trained in Florence, in the workshop of Andrea del Verrochio, and was a member of the Compagnia di S Luca in Florence as early as 1472. His reputation grew rapidly and he produced paintings and numerous drawings, including designs for sculptures, architecture and military and civil engineering, as well as studies of anatomy and the natural scieneces. He was in Milan from ca. 1482 to 1499, returning to Florence in 1500, where he remained until 1508. He returned to Milan from 1508-13, and was then in Rome, where he worked for Giuliano de' Medici, Duc de Nemours. Some time between 1516-17, Leonardo travelled to France and entered the service of Francis I at Clos-Lucé, Amboise, where he died in 1519. Leonardo had a considerable influence on the art of his time. His pupils, included Andrea Solario (ca. 1465-1524), Bernardino Luini (ca. 1480-ca. 1532), Cesare da Sesto (1477-1523), Francesco Melzi (1491/93-ca.1570), Ambrogio de Predis (ca. 1455-after 1508) and Giovanni Antonio Boltraffio (1466/67-1516). His reputation as an artist and universal thinker is immense.

In Italy a new type of altarpiece, known as a pala, appeared in the 15th-century. This represented an unified space on a single panel, and was universally adopted by the 16th century. Altarpieces adorned both high altars and side altars. High altars often carried large altarpieces with elaborate programmes while side altars served a more private piety and were often endowed by private individuals.

Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) was trained in Florence in the workshop of the sculptor Andrea del Verrochio and appeared as a member of the Compagnia di S Luca in Florence as early as 1472. His reputation grew quickly as he produced all sorts of artworks including paintings and drawings but also sculptures, architectural constructions, military and civil devices. He was in Milan from ca. 1482 and 1499 and was back in Florence in 1500, where he remained until 1508. Leonardo went back to Milan in 1508 until 1513. He then went to Rome to work under the patronage of Giuliano de' Medici, Duc de Nemours. At some point between 1516 and 1517, Leonardo went to France where he was accommodated by the King Francis I at the manor house of Clos-Lucé, Amboise. He died in this house in 1519. Leonardo's art had a considerable influence on the art of his time but also dominated European academies for the next 400 years. He had many pupils that included Andrea Solario (ca. 1465-1524), Bernardino Luini (ca. 1480-ca. 1532), Cesare da Sesto (1477-1523), Francesco Melzi (1491/93-ca.1570), Ambrogio de Predis (ca. 1455-after 1508) and Giovanni Antonio Boltraffio (1466/67-1516).

This painting is a 17th-century copy with variations of the famous Virgin of the Rocks executed by Leonardo da Vinci in Milan between 1491 and 1508, now housed in The National gallery, London. It shows the Virgin with the Infant St John the Baptist kneeling before the Child, and an angel. The original rocks have been replaced by a landscape with a distant town. The dark palette and the subtle sfumato imitated Leonardo's style of the mid-1490s.

529-1870