Uffizi Artists | Location | Opening Hours Tickets | Authorizations
Artists Botticelli | Michelangelo | Da Vinci | Caravaggio | Raphael | Titian | Giorgione | Medici | Dürer Cranach Memling | Credi Bartolomeo | Rubens
Leonardo da Vinci: Annunciation, Adoration of the Magi, Baptism of Christ
“The Annunciation” - Leonardo da Vinci
Annunciation This painting is a collective work, from the time when Leonardo da Vinci was still working in Verrocchio's studio.
The lectern and the Virgin are thought to be the work of a pupil of Verrocchio's who was clearly less expert than Leonardo.
On the other hand, the angel is definitely his. An angel who has just landed, whose wings imitate with precision those of a bird that has landed, ready to close.
“The Adoration of the Magi” - Leonardo da Vinci
Here we are faced with one of the audacities and also casualness that characterise Leonardo da Vinci.
Adoration of the Magi Leonardo painted his subjects as he saw fit, without worrying about whether the person who commissioned them would like them or even about depicting them in the official manner for religious scenes.
This work, intended for the Augustinians of San Donato in Scopeto, is an illustration of this.
At the time, in all the Adorations of the Magi, Mary is seated at the far right or left, accompanied by Joseph with the oxen and the donkey.
Also in the foreground are dignitaries dressed in precious oriental clothing, and pets of all kinds, including hares and peacocks.
In this context, the characters parade in front of Jesus with calm and serenity, each in turn.
Adoration of the Magi But in Leonardo da Vinci's Adoration of the Magi, there is no calm or serenity, and the Virgin and Jesus are at the centre of the painting, becoming the main focal point that draws the eye.
The figures surrounding the Virgin and Child are not standing still, waiting patiently for their turn; on the contrary, we see a crowd in motion, with figures bustling around excitedly, rightly so, at the birth of Jesus, and rushing over to admire it.
The emotion of this crowd is what is emphasised here.
And while we can clearly see the Magi kneeling before Mary, there is no trace of their procession in the painting.
Needless to say, the work did not please those who had commissioned it, which explains why it was never finished.
“The Baptism of Christ” - Andrea del Verrocchio and Leonardo da Vinci
The Baptism of Christ In this shared painting, Leonardo da Vinci has painted the angel on the left, holding the tunic intended to cover Christ.
An angel painted in such a beautiful and lively way, so present that Christ and Saint John the Baptist as well as the other angel appear frozen, posed flat in the painting.
The angel has a languid gaze, soft skin and full, delicate lips, in contrast to the other figures in the painting, whose faces are much less expressive.
Giorgio Vasari mentions this painting, stating that Andrea del Verrocchio abandoned his brushes after seeing it, to devote himself solely to sculpture, almost indignant that a young pupil was capable of doing better than he.
Artists Botticelli | Michelangelo | Da Vinci | Caravaggio | Raphael | Titian | Giorgione | Medici | Dürer Cranach Memling | Credi Bartolomeo | Rubens
Uffizi Artists | Location | Opening Hours Tickets | Authorizations
Back to Top of Page