“Virgin of the rocks” is one of the ten most famous paintings by Leonardo da Vinci – the Italian genius painter.
The painting depicts the Virgin Mary, the Child Jesus, Saint John and an angel. The painting consists of two versions, one painted in 1483 and displayed at the Louvre in Paris, and the other in 1508, which hangs at the National Gallery in London.
“Virgin of the rocks” original 1483 (left) and copy 1508 (left)
More than 500 years after the 1508 painting (which is believed to be a copy of the 1483), experts researched how to restore the work and accidentally discovered a mystery: There is another sketch lying now. underneath the oil paint.
Infrared analysis shows that before Leonardo completed the famous “Virgin of the rocks” work over the centuries, he sketched a picture, but left it unfinished.
Experts discovered a sketch hidden under version 1508
The painting also seems to depict the Virgin Mary, the Child Jesus and an angel, but the position of the characters in the sketch is placed higher than the “Virgin of the rocks” we still see.
The visible sketch shows that it had an original composition and details different from the work we see today
“In the composition of the unfinished sketch, both the main characters are placed in a higher position, while the angel faces outwards, his gaze down on the baby Jesus and seems to hold him tighter.” – National Gallery London description.
“These images were discovered because the substance used to draw them contained zinc, so they could be scanned and displayed on an X-ray fluorescence map (MA-XRF),” they added.
The sketch is scanned and displayed on the X-ray fluorescence map
The discovery was made public as experts at the gallery announced the opening of a new exhibition titled “Leonardo: Experience a Masterpiece” that will take place in November.
They are still studying the sketch more closely. However, the reason why he threatened to abandon the painting is still a mystery.