HOW LEONARDO INVENTED SFUMATO

The so-called "Madonna of the Rocks" (1483-1485) in the Louvre, Paris, is one of two versions by Leonardo commissioned by the Franciscan Confraternity of the Immaculate Conception in Milan in 1483. With reference to this work, this article suggests that Leonardo invented the technique known as sfumato specifically to signify Mary's immaculacy in his depiction of her here emerging from the shadow of sin. By offering this naturalistic presentation for Mary's favoured status supported by a Franciscan text, Leonardo repudiated both the iconic approach of Italo-Byzantine art preferred by his patrons and the didactic bias of his contemporaries, producing a highly original iconographical statement. (Quotes from original text)