The Virgin and Child with St Anne

Leonardo da Vinci, circa 1508

Oil on wood

168 × 112 cm

Louvre, Paris

The Virgin and Child with St Anne is an oil painting by Leonardo da Vinci depicting St Anne, her daughter the Virgin Mary and the infant Jesus. Christ is shown grappling with a sacrificial lamb symbolising his Passion whilst the Virgin tries to restrain him. The painting was commissioned as the high altarpiece for the Church of Santissima Annunziata in Florence and its theme had long preoccupied Leonardo. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (513x760, 27 KB)Virgin and Child with St. ... The Mona Lisa Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (April 15, 1452 – May 2, 1519) was an Italian polymath: scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, painter, sculptor, architect, musician, and writer. ... 1508 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Mona Lisa, Oil on wood panel painting by Leonardo da Vinci La donna velata, painted in 1516, Oil on wood panel painting by Raphael Oil painting is done on surfaces with pigments that are ground and mixed into a medium of oil — especially in early modern Europe, linseed oil. ... This article is about the museum: for building history, see Palais du Louvre. ... City flag City coat of arms Motto: Fluctuat nec mergitur (Latin: Tossed by the waves, she does not sink) Paris Eiffel tower as seen from the esplanade du Trocadéro. ... Mona Lisa, Oil on wood panel painting by Leonardo da Vinci La donna velata, painted in 1516, Oil on wood panel painting by Raphael Oil painting is done on surfaces with pigments that are ground and mixed into a medium of oil — especially in early modern Europe, linseed oil. ... The Mona Lisa Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (April 15, 1452 – May 2, 1519) was an Italian polymath: scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, painter, sculptor, architect, musician, and writer. ... This article is about the mother of the Virgin Mary. ... Gabriel delivering the Annunciation to Mary. ... Jacopo Bellinis Madonna and Child Blessing depicts the infant Jesus in the act of blessing the viewer The Child Jesus is a religious symbol based on the activities of Jesus as an infant up to the age of twelve that recurs throughout history, starting from around the third or... Agnus Dei is a Latin term meaning Lamb of God, and was originally used to refer to Jesus Christ in his role of the perfect sacrificial offering that atones for the sins of man in Christian theology, harkening back to ancient Jewish Temple sacrifices. ... The Passion is the theological term used for the suffering, both physical and mental, of Jesus in the hours prior to and including his trial and execution by crucifixion. ... Santa Annunziata di Firenze The Basilica della Santissima Annunziata (Basilica of the Most Holy Annunciation) is a Roman Catholic minor basilica in Florence and the mother church of the Servite order. ... Florences skyline Florences skyline at night from Piazza Michaelangelo Florence (Italian: ) is the capital city of the region of Tuscany, Italy. ...

In 1498, Leonardo probed into incorporating these figures together by drawing the Burlington House Cartoon (National Gallery, London), which included all three figures in addition to an infant St John the Baptist. An earlier cartoon exhibited in Santissima Annunziata in 1501 is now lost. 1498 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Virgin and Child with St Anne and St John the Baptist, sometimes called The Burlington House Cartoon, is a full-size cartoon by Leonardo da Vinci. ... The National Gallery from Trafalgar Square The National Gallery is an art gallery in London, located on the north side of Trafalgar Square. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... Icon depiction of Jesus baptism by the hand of John, Jordan River, Jordan The excavated remains of the baptism site in Bethany beyond the Jordan John the Baptist (also called John the Baptiser, or Yahya the Baptiser) was a 1st century Jewish preacher and ascetic regarded as a prophet by... 1501 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Ultimately, this painting would emerge during the later years of his life, when he was occupied with an interest in mathematics and other pursuits, its rocky landscape betraying his interest in geology. The demands of his other interests may have forced him to leave this painting incomplete. This article includes a list of works cited but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ...

In addition to the symbolism of Christ playing with the lamb discussed above, Fra Pietro da Novellara, a Vice General of the Carmelite Order, saw a further layer of symbolic significance to the painting. He believed that St Anne's serene expression, in contrast with Mary's anxiety for her child, "perhaps stands for the Church that does not want to have the Passion of Christ prevented". Origin and early history Carmelites (in Latin Ordo fratrum Beatæ Virginis Mariæ de monte Carmelo) is the name of a Roman Catholic order founded in the 12th century by a certain Berthold (d. ...

The painting's pyramidal structure influenced Raphael and Andrea del Sarto. Its composition inspired two High Renaissance sculptures, one by Andrea Sansovino (S. Agostino, Rome) and another, less successful work by Francesco da Sangallo (Orsanmichele, Florence). A pyramid is any three-dimensional structure where the upper surfaces are triangular and converge on one point. ... Raphael or Raffaello (April 6, 1483 – April 6, 1520) was an Italian master painter and architect of the Florentine school in High Renaissance, celebrated for the perfection and grace of his paintings. ... A self portrait. ... Raphael was famous for depicting illustrious figures of the Classical past with the features of his Renaissance contemporaries. ... Andrea dal Monte Sansovino (c. ... Nickname: The Eternal City Motto: SPQR: Senatus PopulusQue Romanus Location of the city of Rome (yellow) within the Province of Rome (red) and region of Lazio (grey) Coordinates: Region Lazio Province Province of Rome Founded 21 April 753 BC  - Mayor Walter Veltroni Area    - City 1285 km²  (580 sq mi)  - Urban... Francesco da Sangallo (1494–1576) was a High Renaissance sculptor and son of the architect and sculptor Giuliano da Sangallo. ... The church of Orsanmichele (or Or San Michele), located on the Via Calzaiuoli in Florence, was originally built as a grain market in 1337. ...

Freud's interpretation

Sigmund Freud undertook a psychoanalytic examination of Leonardo in his essay Leonardo da Vinci, A Memory of His Childhood. According to Freud, the Virgin's garment reveals a vulture when viewed sideways. Freud claimed that this was a manifestation of a "passive homosexual" childhood fantasy that Leonardo wrote about in the Codex Atlanticus, in which he recounts being attacked as an infant in his crib by the tail of a vulture. He translated the passage thus: Sigmund Freud (May 6, 1856–September 23, 1939; IPA pronunciation: [] in German, [] in English) was a Jewish-Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist who co-founded the psychoanalytic school of psychology. ... Orders Falconiformes (Fam. ...

It seems that I was always destined to be so deeply concerned with vultures—for I recall as one of my very earliest memories that while I was in my cradle a vulture came down to me, and opened my mouth with its tail, and struck me many times with its tail against my lips.

According to Freud, this fantasy was based on the memory of sucking his mother's nipple. He backed up his claim with the fact that Egyptian hieroglyphs represent the mother as a vulture, because the Egyptians believed that there are no male vultures and that the females of the species are impregnated by the wind. It has been suggested that Hieroglyph (French Wiki article) be merged into this article or section. ...

Unfortunately for Freud, the word 'vulture' was a mistranslation by the German translator of the Codex and the bird that Leonardo imagined was in fact a kite. This disappointed Freud because, as he confessed to Lou Andréas Salomé, he regarded Leonardo as 'the only beautiful thing I have ever written'. Some Freudian scholars have, however, made attempts to repair the theory by incorporating the kite. Genera Milvinae    Harpagus    Ictinia    Rostrhamus    Haliastur    Milvus    Lophoictinia    Hamirostra Elaninae    Elanus    Chelictinia    Machaerhamphus    Gampsonyx    Elanoides Kites are raptors with long wings and weak legs which spend a great deal of time soaring. ...

Another theory proposed by Freud attempts to explain Leonardo's fondness of depicting the Virgin Mary with St Anne. Leonardo, who was illegitimate, was raised by his blood mother initially before being 'adopted' by the wife of his father Ser Piero. The idea of depicting the Mother of God with her own mother was therefore particularly close to Leonardo's heart, because he, in a sense, had 'two mothers' himself. It is worth noting that in both versions of the composition (the Louvre painting and the London cartoon) it is hard to discern whether St Anne is a full generation older than Mary.

Sources

Freud, The Writer of Leonardo