Note 26 — THE MADONNA OF THE ROCKS
Reading edition
The National Gallery and the Louvre each claims that it possesses the original of this celebrated picture and that its rival is a replica. The former was purchased in Milan, in 1796 by Gavin Hamilton, who sold it to Lord Suffolk, in whose collection at Charlton Park it was long an ornament. It was purchased from him in 1880 for £9,000. The Louvre picture is first mentioned as belonging to Francis I. Designs for it are in Turin and Windsor, and in these the outstretched hand of the angel appears. This does not occur in the London Madonna of the Rocks, which differs in several details; for example, there are halos above the heads of the figures and John the Baptist carries a cross.—E.S.