You are here: BBC Science > Leonardo da Vinci  | | The Annunciation | | | | | The Annunciation depicts the moment when the angel Gabriel appears before Mary. The enclosed garden symbolises her virginity.
Two versions of this painting exist. The one in the Uffizi gallery is more likely to be Leonardo's own. A second version, which hangs in the Louvre could well be the work of Lorenzo di Credi, who, like Leonardo was also an apprentice of Verrocchio. However, the Louvre version also contains elements - such as realistic wings on the angel - which we associate with Leonardo's style.
 Compare the two paintings
This painting contains technical flaws which we would not expect from a Leonardo work. However, it was painted when Leonardo was still young. These errors may be because he was still learning his craft.
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|  Look For - The technical flaws in this painting are easy to spot. Mary has her hands resting on an altar, yet this has been drawn closer to the viewer than Mary is.
The painting also has a horizontally central vanishing point, which is unusual for Renaissance paintings.
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