LEONARDO da Vinci
(b. 1452, Vinci, d. 1519, Cloux, near Amboise)

The Virgin and Child with St Anne (detail)

c. 1510
Oil on wood
Musée du Louvre, Paris

Mary's gaze is melancholy. She has recognized that her son must suffer his future fate. Her body still seems to be showing the tension of the previous moment when she wanted to pull her child away from the lamb, the symbol of his future suffering. St Anne is watching the events benevolently. The pyramidal composition is dynamic, yet harmoniously balanced. The colossal sense of depth created by the mountainous landscape gives the painting a perceptible peacefulness and greatness.