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Vertumnus and Pomona is painted in the style typical of the Leonardeschi, utilizing Leonardo da Vinci's female facial type with downcast eyes and tight smile, Leonardo's sfumato technique, and reflecting Leonardo's observation of botany. The painting likewise draws from known Leonardo compositions from before 1513: For example, Melzi's painting had the same color scheme as Leonardo's Virgin and Child with Saint Anne at the Louvre. The tall mountains in the background, especially including the arched bridge on the left, are drawn from the background of the Mona Lisa. In addition, the pose of Pomona is closely related to the pose of the Virgin Mary in Leonardo's drawing called the Burlington House Cartoon in the National Gallery.
Much of the interpretation of the painting comes from the symbolism of the plants surrounding the figures that would have been understood by 16th and 17th century viewers. Primary of these is the elm and vine tree in the center of the composition. The painting depicts a scene from book XIV of Ovid's Metamorphoses that describes Vertumnus trying to convince Pomona to love using the parable of the elm and the vine. Pruned elm trees were often used as supports for vines and so Latin authors often took the two together as a symbol of marriage. In the immediate foreground is a growth of columbine, a symbol of fertility that is likewise prominent in Melzi's Flora.
Vertumnus Burlington House Cartoon Ovid Pomona left Flora columbine Mona Lisa Ovid's Leonardo da Vinci the elm and the vine National Gallery Virgin and Child with Saint Anne Leonardeschi sfumato Metamorphoses Leonardo da Vinci's