Mysterious Virgin

The commission

The Virgin of the Rocks was commissioned in 1483 by the Confraternity of the Immaculate Conception as part of a large altarpiece for their church, San Francesco in Milan. It wasn't delivered until 1508, and even then it wasn't finished - the angel's hand resting on Christ's back is only sketched in.

The delay in this case was due to an argument over money. Leonardo was promised a set fee, plus a bonus when the painting was finished.

Leonardo, The Virgin of the Rocks, 1491-1508 

 However, the bonus he was offered was so paltry that he angrily sold the work to a private client. (That version is now in the Louvre, Paris.) The confraternity finally managed to patch things up with the artist, and he began work on a second version of the painting, which is now in the National Gallery.

Associate of Leonardo, An Angel in Green with a Vielle, before 1506

Associate of Leonardo, An Angel in Red with a Lute, probably 1490-9

These two angels, which also belong to the Gallery, were made by associates of Leonardo. They were hung on either side of the painting.

Next: Light and shade