An Angel in Red with a Lute

This angel is a pair to another in the National Gallery’s collection. Both were part of a large altarpiece made for the church of San Francesco Grande in Milan that included Leonardo’s ‘Virgin of the Rocks’, which is also in our collection. They were made to surround a sculpture of the Virgin Mary which stood above Leonardo’s picture.

Ambrogio de Predis and Leonardo were both named on the contract for the altarpiece which specifically asked for angels playing music. Here the angel plays a lute but looks distracted, apparently focusing on the statue of the Virgin Mary instead. The grey niche he stands in is a later addition.

Text: © The National Gallery, London

Painting photographed in its frame by Google Arts & Culture, 2023.