Abstract
The field of Leonardo da Vinci Studies has seen rapid advancement in recent years. Multiple research projects have been conducted on Leonardo’s observation of the natural world in relation to his inventions and painting techniques. Nonetheless, there lacks a consensus on how nature has impacted Leonardo’s interpretation of religious icons, such as the Virgin and the Christ Child. Therefore, this paper emphasizes Leonardo’s recreation of visual narrative using symbolism and natural setting within his series of icon paintings. The study opens with an inspection of the preceding Byzantine style and late-Medieval icon painting as a comparative reference, then discusses early experimentations that introduce symbolic themes in conjunction with natural elements. This is followed by visual analyses of the Paris Virgin of the Rocks and The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne. Evaluations will be performed on the two paintings’ intentions in remodeling theological narratives with compositional symbolism, technical enrichment, and geological presentations. The study reveals Leonardo’s use of a recreated natural environment as a manifestation of divinity, which functions in concert with his humanized divinity to realize a personalized view of sacred iconography. This aesthetic privatization ultimately transforms icon painting from a collectivized liturgical tool to an individualized interpretation of godhood.
Published Version
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