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Primary sourcePaintingc. 1501-1519

The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne

Leonardo da Vinci · c. 1501-1519

An unfinished painting by Leonardo depicting the Virgin Mary, her mother Saint Anne, and the infant Jesus with a lamb.

Worked on across his later years, this painting reflects Leonardo's mature ideas about composition and landscape.

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Painting of a seated woman in a blue and red dress leaning forward with a smaller younger woman draped over her lap, a naked toddler reaching for a lamb in the foreground, with a dark tree and blue mountains behind.
Leonardo da Vinci, The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne, c. 1501-1519. Louvre, Paris.

About this source

What it is

This unfinished oil painting by Leonardo da Vinci shows Saint Anne, her daughter the Virgin Mary, and the infant Jesus, who holds a lamb. It was likely commissioned as an altarpiece and worked on over many years. It is held in the Louvre in Paris.

Why it matters

Leonardo kept returning to this composition over his later life, developing his ideas about how to interlock figures naturally and surround them with a soft, atmospheric landscape. Faint sketches later found on the back of the painting, possibly by Leonardo himself, show him reusing panels and testing other ideas.

Look closer

  • How has Leonardo arranged the three figures so their bodies connect and overlap?
  • What might the lamb in the painting represent?
  • Why do you think Leonardo worked on this painting over such a long period without finishing it?

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Leonardo da Vinci on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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