Leonardo Da Vinci

Leonardo’s Virgin and Child with Saint Anne began as a commission for the church of Santissima Annunziata around 1501. A widely admired cartoon featuring Anne, Mary, and the Christ child was displayed publicly, but Leonardo delayed completing the final painting. Over time, he developed various versions, including the surviving Burlington House cartoon, which replaced the lamb with a young Saint John. By 1503, he had begun the painting itself, which fused his anatomical, geological, and compositional studies. The finished work shows the young Jesus wrestling with a lamb as Mary attempts to restrain him, symbolizing his embrace of the Passion. Though meant for an altarpiece, Leonardo kept the painting with him for the rest of his life, making continual refinements. The painting exemplifies his pursuit of complex motion, emotion, and meaning—what many consider one of his most layered and ambitious masterpieces.

This chapter explores two of Leonardo’s most debated works: the lost Leda and the Swan and the rediscovered Salvator Mundi. Although Leonardo likely completed Leda, the original is lost; scholars study workshop copies and a preparatory drawing to infer its themes of sensuality, birth, and natural renewal. The painting is notable as Leonardo’s only overtly sexual work, yet it emphasizes fertility over eroticism.