ca. 1495-8. Convent of Santa Maria della Grazie, Milan. The Last Supper, In the gestures form a delicate choreography of theological meaning Virgin of the that would soon be continued in the while Mary’s left hand hovers Saint Anne: protectively over her son Jesus to safe guard him from evil, her right hand embraces the young John the Baptist, the figure destined to announce Jesus’ inevitable path to his Passion. Thus the composition eloquently expresses Mary’s dilemma: while wholly devoted to her son’s wellbeing, she knows she must submit to God’s will and anticipate his future sacrifice. This is further affirmed in the gesture of the angel, who points to John to emphasize that this part of God’s plan for mankind. The infant Jesus, meanwhile, raises his hand to bless John, meaning he has accepted his future Passion, and welcomes John’s role in this. All in all, the is a rather mysterious work, given that the Virgin of the Rocks emphasis is clearly on the Virgin and particularly the infant John, who seems to be getting all the attention; Jesus himself is relegated to a lesser role, at the very base of the triangular composition. Some authors have argued that Leonardo was inspired by a pseudo-heretical text known as the by the Franciscan theologican Joao Apocalypsis Nova Mendes da Silva, which depicts the Virgin and John at the core of the Passion story. This may also explain why the agency that commissioned the work, the Confraternity of the Immaculate Conception in Milan, initially refused to pay the agreed price for the work. The crossed hands of the by contrast, appear to elude any obvious Mona Lisa, interpretation. They are evidently at rest, and as such may signal the sitter’s contentment with her state—as a young, well-to-do wife and mother, secure in the love of her husband. Another way to look at the meaning of the hands is to state the obvious: that they are very beautiful hands, free of blemish, soft and delicate—the type of hands that want to caress, or wipe the tears from a sobbing child. That they are slightly longer than her anatomy would otherwise suggest is again the reflection of Verrocchio’s unfailing sense of elegance, particularly because the lower hand is partly hidden by foreshortening. But given the obvious care with which
The Last Supper, ca. 1495-8. Convent of Santa Maria della Grazie, Milan. In the Virgin of the gestures form a delicate choreography of theological meaning that would soon be continued in the Saint Anne: while Mary’s left hand hovers protectively over her son Jesus to safe guard him from evil, her right hand embraces the young John the Baptist, the figure destined to announce Jesus’ inevitable path to his Passion. Thus the composition eloquently expresses Mary’s dilemma: while wholly devoted to her son’s wellbeing, she knows she must submit to God’s will and anticipate his future sacrifice. This is further affirmed in the gesture of the angel, who points to John to emphasize that this part of God’s plan for mankind. The infant Jesus, meanwhile, raises his hand to bless John, meaning he has accepted his future Passion, and welcomes John’s role in this. All in all, the Virgin of the Rocks is a rather mysterious work, given that the emphasis is clearly on the Virgin and particularly the infant John, who seems to be getting all the attention; Jesus himself is relegated to a lesser role, at the very base of the triangular composition. Some authors have argued that Leonardo was inspired by a pseudo-heretical text known as the Apocalypsis Nova by the Franciscan theologican Joao Mendes da Silva, which depicts the Virgin and John at the core of the Passion story. This may also explain why the agency that commissioned the work, the Confraternity of the Immaculate Conception in Milan, initially refused to pay the agreed price for the work. The crossed hands of the Mona Lisa, by contrast, appear to elude any obvious interpretation. They are evidently at rest, and as such may signal the sitter’s contentment with her state—as a young, well-to-do wife and mother, secure in the love of her husband. Another way to look at the meaning of the hands is to state the obvious: that they are very beautiful hands, free of blemish, soft and delicate—the type of hands that want to caress, or wipe the tears from a sobbing child. That they are slightly longer than her anatomy would otherwise suggest is again the reflection of Verrocchio’s unfailing sense of elegance, particularly because the lower hand is partly hidden by foreshortening. But given the obvious care with which
The-Mona-Lisa-Myth_MS_0619-cd-notes.docx