The Virgin of the Rocks is the name used for both of two paintings by Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was an Italian Renaissance polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist and writer whose genius, perhaps more than that of any other figure, epitomized the Renaissance...

, of the same subject, and of a composition which is identical except for two significant details. The paintings normally hang in the Louvre

Louvre

The Musée du Louvre – in English, the Louvre Museum or simply the Louvre – is one of the world's largest museums, the most visited art museum in the world and a historic monument. A central landmark of Paris, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement...

, Paris, and the National Gallery, London, but for a few months in late 2011 and early 2012 have been brought together in an exhibition at the National Gallery.

The Virgin of the Rocks which usually hangs in the Louvre painted is considered by most art historians to be the earlier of the two and date from around 1483-1486.