The painting, believed to be an early work by Leonardo da Vinci, depicts a young woman in a blue robe sitting on a stone, holding a naked baby in her arms, with natural scenery such as mountain peaks and forests in the background. The most widespread theory is that the woman is the Virgin Mary and the baby in her arms is Jesus. In the painting, the woman is holding a baby in one hand and holding a pomegranate fruit with part of its skin peeled off in the other hand. The baby in the woman's arms used her small hands to grab some of the pomegranate seeds and stretched them out to the woman. The woman lowered her head with a look of pity on her face, as if she knew his tragic ending.
An interesting study suggests that the cross-section of the pomegranate in this painting is almost identical to the structure of the heart. (Keshelava, G. 2021). This statement supports to a certain extent that pomegranate is regarded as a symbol of life due to its similarity to the heart structure. Likewise, as the seed appears in the hands of the infant Jesus, the pomegranate in this painting also partly illustrates the new life Jesus offers to mankind.