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The second version of the grotto altarpiece, finally delivered to the Milanese confraternity in 1508 after twenty-five years of dispute.
When the first panel went elsewhere, Leonardo and his partner Ambrogio de Predis owed the confraternity an altarpiece. This second version was painted over many years, with help from the workshop, and was installed in San Francesco Grande in 1508.
The composition is almost the same, but the mood is cooler and more solemn. The angel no longer points, and haloes and the cross of John were added, probably by a later hand. The light is brighter and more sculptural.
Infrared studies by the National Gallery in London have revealed an earlier, abandoned design beneath it, showing a kneeling woman adoring the child.
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by Mei Lin 