The Virgin of the Rocks

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out and points to St. John. The piece is dedicated to the Immaculate Conception, the condition that the Blessed Virgin Mary was free from Original Sin [HYPERLINK: http://catholicism.about.com/od/baltimorecatechism/f/Question_47_BC.htm] from the very moment of her conception. However, the scene that the painting depicts is the childhood meeting between Jesus and his cousin Saint John the Baptist. It was claimed that when King Herod ordered the Massacre of the Innocents, the Holy Family fled to Egypt and on their way met Saint John, who also escaped the massacre. As John pays homage to Christ, he is blesses and the Baptism prophesied.
Da Vinci failed to complete the piece before the date of completion that was specified in the contract. This led to a bitter argument over the payment. Unhappy with the amount of money he was being offered, Leonardo angrily sold the work to a private client. (That version is now in the Louvre, Paris.) The confraternity finally managed to patch ...

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