On hearing an artist friend was in London and had spent time at the National Gallery with the two paintings called The Virgin Of The Rocks (see below) I asked her which of the two she preferred, the one in The National Gallery or the one visiting from the Louvre. This was her response;
You posed an interesting question. Since I had a wonderful opportunity to compare I was able to really gather the nuances of the works. The London painting, recently cleaned was very crisp and really showed Leonardo's mastery of light. There was much more evidence of the floral details as well. I also felt that he had rethought the piece and I preferred the tilt of the head of the angel in the London work. It and the glance were much more evocative and sensuous as was the madonna's glance. I could certainly have done without the symbolism of the cross and the halos in the piece which I believe were an afterthought put in after Leonardo. The first painting (Louvre) however still had the freshness of inspiration that evoked the mystery...
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