The Virgin of Rocks is a painting created by Leonardo da Vinci in the last decade of the 15th century. It is the second version of the same subject, with the first one located in the Louvre Museum in Paris. It was commissioned by the Confraternity of the Immaculate Conception for the Church of San Francesco Grande in Milan. In the painting, the Virgin Mary shelters John the Baptist under her cloak, while he adores the infant Jesus, and an angel delicately supports his arm on the back of John. The artwork is distinguished by the rocky landscape that opens up in the background, drawing the viewer's gaze into the distance. The London version of the painting exhibits a greater stylistic clarity and creates the effect of a mysterious grotto, symbolically alluding to the maternal womb.
