The Virgin and Child with St. Anne by Leonardo Da Vinci (1452-1519)

VISUAL ARTS

Introduction

Consideration of an artistic masterpiece in terms of the artist's life reveals historical background of the piece of art. Artistic work can still derive meaning from history through involvement of different elements of the times of its origin. One method of deriving meaning from an artistic work is through iconographic analysis, which aims at establishing the meaning of an artistic work at the time of its production. This does not necessarily include the artist's intentions or what the person who paid for it had in mind, analysis of this kind depends on historical evidence assembly and reconstruction of evidence.

Like all forms of historical analysis, visual analysis should begin with what first catches the eye on the object of consideration. During the observation, the observer relates objects to other visual elements, and possibly text. The process may include historical research and the result thereafter yields several interpretations. My recent academic visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art proved to be the only way to appreciate works of art, and one piece of art hat caught my attention was The Virgin and Child with St. Anne by Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) a five by four foot painting found at the European Paintings Galleries. This paper tries to give a visual analysis and interpretation of the picture.

Visual analysis

In the picture, the virgin balances on the laps of St. Anne, her mother and gently supports or restrain her son, who is grabbing a lamb. The picture depicted life's energetic flow from the highest and the oldest figure, St Anne down through the virgin to her grand child and finally the a lamb and plants below . The lamb and the child are both looking up at the two women who seemed to gaze at them in wonderment.

In the picture, the child holds a lamb, a symbol of himself since Jesus often is called the "lamb of God" the repeated curl on the child's head and the way the lamb positions its head links the two. The artist intended to create an idea of continuity and connection, and this depicts itself, by the way, the artist positioned the characters arms link like a chain, with the top chain being St. Anne, set apart by the Virgin's shoulder. The artist efficiently used colors to give the viewers an impression of the earth and heaven. Behind the figures in the picture, are trees belonging to the earth while lakes and mountains belonging to heaven.

The picture supports direction, connection, unity and disarray. St. Anne's arm rests on her invisible left hip and the artist positions the virgin's head before St. Anne's shoulder. The fullness of the virgin's robe and the way she fold it on her lap suggest the rebirth of the child.