Description
The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne by Leonardo da Vinci brings Mary, her mother Anne and the infant Jesus into a closely connected group. Mary leans toward the child as he engages with a lamb, creating a flowing movement through the figures. A distant, imagined landscape extends behind them, while softened transitions of light give the scene a quiet, enveloping atmosphere.
The subject occupied Leonardo through drawings and a long process of revision. The Louvre connects its beginnings with Florence in the early sixteenth century and rejects the often-repeated claim that Louis XII commissioned it in 1499. Rather than illustrating a simple family gathering, the arrangement joins affection, successive generations and the lamb’s association with Christ’s future sacrifice.
Collection reference: Musée du Louvre, The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne.
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