Gallery work
Story and context
A young, laughing Mary holds out a flower to the child, who studies it with a frown. A small, intimate picture of play and attention.
In 1478 Leonardo noted that he had begun "the two Virgin Marys". The Benois Madonna is very likely one of them. It is named after the family that owned it before the Hermitage acquired it in 1914.
This Mary is a teenager, smiling, with her hair caught up in a plain ribbon. The child grasps her hand to steady the flower, a small cross-shaped bloom that hints at the Passion, and looks at it with the seriousness of a baby learning to see.
The colours have darkened and the window at the back is empty now, but the group already shows his gift for linking two figures through a single gesture and a shared gaze.
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by Mei Lin 