Aldobrandini Madonna
Encyclopedia
The Aldobrandini Madonna is a painting
from about 1509-1510 oil by the Italian
renaissance
artist Raphael
. The picture is of the Virgin Mother, Christ child and infant John the Baptist, one of many paintings by Raphael with this trio. It is from early in his third, or Roman period, where distinctive changes are seen from his Umbrian or Florentine period in style, use of colour, and introduction of more natural subjects and settings.
Owned for centuries by the aristocratic Roman Aldobrandini family, it has been part of the collection of the National Gallery
in London
since 1865. It was sold to the National Gallery in 1865 after about five decades of ownership by the Lord and Lady Garvagh, and is still sometimes known as the Garvagh Madonna. .
to receive Raphael and his workshop's frescoes.
Exploratory sketches of this and other Madonnas from 1509 to 1511 are found in Raphael's "pink sketch-book". It is one of several of Raphael's Madonna and Childs that uses a pyramidal composition.
The painting takes place within a room, with a backdrop of the Roman landscape through the windows. The dark pillar between the windows sets off the bright face of the Madonna who is seated on a bench, holding the Christ child to whom he shares a flower with infant John. The painting has also been referred to as Madonna del Giglio (of the dianthus
or pink) for the flower that infant John gave to the infant Christ. In addition to the sweetness of the painting, it is well regarded for its grace, beauty and technical skill. Only the discreet ring halos
imply anything other than a very human scene.
One topic of conversation has been that the folds of material around the Virgin's lap do not seem to indicate sufficient room for her legs.
In a sweet gesture, the Christ Child sits naturally in the lap of the Virgin, taking the carnation, sign of his future Passion, from Saint John.
The painting contrasts significantly with Raphael's earlier Ansidei Madonna
(1505), influenced by the strict expression of divinity
of the Umbrian School within his Florentine Period. Here Madonna is a more human mother, with divinity only expressed through the halo. The Christ child and Saint John are both children. The painting is more reflective of natural circumstances. And, yet, there is a severity of this Madonna that will ease into a greater naturalness, such as the Alba Madonna
slightly later into Raphael's Roman period.
In further contrast to the paintings of his Florentine period, the Madonnas of his Roman period are stronger and more imposing. This is due in part to the difference between the gaunt woman of Umbria and the beautiful women of Trastevere and Campagna, and also by Raphael's pursuit of the ideal. He instructed his students that "we must not represent things as they are, but as they should be."
A strong influence in Raphael's growth as an artist in Rome was Michaelangelo. There are aspects of the composition of Aldobrandini Madonna that are similar to Leonardo da Vinci's Madonna Litta
, such as the portrait style painting before two windows that overlook the countryside and style of the Virgin's clothing.
refers to the history of ownership of a work of art. Tracing the provenance tells who owned the painting and can lead to the painting's artist. Raphael’s Aldobrandini Madonna, now of the London National Gallery.
In the 16th century the painting was owned by the Aldobrandini family who owned apartments in the Villa Borghese
in Rome
. Raphael painted a number of Madonnas that passed into the Aldobrandini
family; Virgin and Child with Saint John may have been in the collection of Lucrezia d’Este (d. 1598), inventoried in 1592, that came to the Aldobrandinis. The National Gallery’s painting is most likely identical to the painting in Jacomo Manilli's Villa Borghese guidebook in 1650 titled ‘Vergine, con Christo, e San Giouannino, ... di Raffaelle’ (‘Virgin with Christ, and Saint John, … by Raphael’). In the 1780s art critic Basilius von Ramdohr
noted that the painting was still kept in Prince Aldobrandini's apartments, verified by the National Gallery to Seroux d’Agincourt’s illustrated publication of 1823, which includes a sketch of the painting and states that the painting can be seen at Prince Aldobrandini's apartment, and is notated in the margin:
Per the National Gallery, and in contradiction to the Agincourt publication, the painting was acquired by George Canning, 1st Lord Garvagh
in 1818 from Alexander Day
's collection before it was sold in 1865 to the National Gallery by his widow and heirs for ₤9,000.
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
from about 1509-1510 oil by the Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
artist Raphael
Raphael
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino , better known simply as Raphael, was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form and ease of composition and for its visual achievement of the Neoplatonic ideal of human grandeur...
. The picture is of the Virgin Mother, Christ child and infant John the Baptist, one of many paintings by Raphael with this trio. It is from early in his third, or Roman period, where distinctive changes are seen from his Umbrian or Florentine period in style, use of colour, and introduction of more natural subjects and settings.
Owned for centuries by the aristocratic Roman Aldobrandini family, it has been part of the collection of the National Gallery
National Gallery, London
The National Gallery is an art museum on Trafalgar Square, London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The gallery is an exempt charity, and a non-departmental public body of the Department for Culture, Media...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
since 1865. It was sold to the National Gallery in 1865 after about five decades of ownership by the Lord and Lady Garvagh, and is still sometimes known as the Garvagh Madonna. .
The painting
Aldobrandini Madonna, one of several small and mid-size Madonnas painted by Raphael in Rome, was likely something he worked on in his spare time of projects for the Pope or members of his court. During this time period, Raphael was painting the Stanza della Segnatura, the first room in the Vatican PalaceApostolic Palace
The Apostolic Palace is the official residence of the Pope, which is located in Vatican City. It is also known as the Sacred Palace, the Papal Palace and the Palace of the Vatican...
to receive Raphael and his workshop's frescoes.
Exploratory sketches of this and other Madonnas from 1509 to 1511 are found in Raphael's "pink sketch-book". It is one of several of Raphael's Madonna and Childs that uses a pyramidal composition.
The painting takes place within a room, with a backdrop of the Roman landscape through the windows. The dark pillar between the windows sets off the bright face of the Madonna who is seated on a bench, holding the Christ child to whom he shares a flower with infant John. The painting has also been referred to as Madonna del Giglio (of the dianthus
Dianthus
Dianthus is a genus of about 300 species of flowering plants in the family Caryophyllaceae, native mainly to Europe and Asia, with a few species extending south to north Africa, and one species in arctic North America. Common names include carnation , pink and sweet William Dianthus is a genus of...
or pink) for the flower that infant John gave to the infant Christ. In addition to the sweetness of the painting, it is well regarded for its grace, beauty and technical skill. Only the discreet ring halos
Halo (religious iconography)
A halo is a ring of light that surrounds a person in art. They have been used in the iconography of many religions to indicate holy or sacred figures, and have at various periods also been used in images of rulers or heroes...
imply anything other than a very human scene.
One topic of conversation has been that the folds of material around the Virgin's lap do not seem to indicate sufficient room for her legs.
Relationship of the Christ Child and John the Baptist
Raphael appears to have a special affinity for the relationship between Jesus, the Christ child, and his similarly aged cousin, John. Likely that was due to the special relationship that they would enjoy as they went through adulthood. Raphael cloths infant John here, and other paintings of the trio, in a little skin garment, like cloths of the desert as described in The Bible, "camel's hair and with a girdle of skin about his loins."In a sweet gesture, the Christ Child sits naturally in the lap of the Virgin, taking the carnation, sign of his future Passion, from Saint John.
Comparison to paintings from Raphael's Florentine period
The Madonna paintings from his early Roman years evolved from his Umbrian and Florentine Madonnas, are more informal in dress and pose. At the same time, the composition is more complex. The colors are cooler, jewel-toned, an experiment with the dominant colors of the Stanza della Segnatura's School of Athens and bright, as if on porcelain.The painting contrasts significantly with Raphael's earlier Ansidei Madonna
Ansidei Madonna
The Ansidei Madonna is a 1505-1507 painting by the Italian High Renaissance artist Raphael, painted during his Florentine period. It shows the Blessed Virgin Mary sitting on a wooden throne, with the child Christ on her lap...
(1505), influenced by the strict expression of divinity
Divinity
Divinity and divine are broadly applied but loosely defined terms, used variously within different faiths and belief systems — and even by different individuals within a given faith — to refer to some transcendent or transcendental power or deity, or its attributes or manifestations in...
of the Umbrian School within his Florentine Period. Here Madonna is a more human mother, with divinity only expressed through the halo. The Christ child and Saint John are both children. The painting is more reflective of natural circumstances. And, yet, there is a severity of this Madonna that will ease into a greater naturalness, such as the Alba Madonna
Alba Madonna
The Alba Madonna is a painting by the Italian High Renaissance artist Raphael, depicting Mary, Jesus and John the Baptist, in a typical Italian countryside. John the Baptist is holding up a cross to Jesus, which the baby Jesus is grasping. All three figures are staring at the cross...
slightly later into Raphael's Roman period.
In further contrast to the paintings of his Florentine period, the Madonnas of his Roman period are stronger and more imposing. This is due in part to the difference between the gaunt woman of Umbria and the beautiful women of Trastevere and Campagna, and also by Raphael's pursuit of the ideal. He instructed his students that "we must not represent things as they are, but as they should be."
A strong influence in Raphael's growth as an artist in Rome was Michaelangelo. There are aspects of the composition of Aldobrandini Madonna that are similar to Leonardo da Vinci's Madonna Litta
Madonna Litta
The Madonna Litta is a late 15th-century painting of the Madonna and Christ Child generally attributed to Leonardo da Vinci, and displayed in the Hermitage Museum, Russia....
, such as the portrait style painting before two windows that overlook the countryside and style of the Virgin's clothing.
Skill near perfection
Per Wornum, Aldobrandini Madonna is one of Raphael's paintings that is painted in near perfection, and in the process "elevated the standard of perfection." Raphael executes with such skill, combined with imitative formative art, and the power of invention to reach a noteworthy state of excellence. While others have surpassed him in execution, Raphael's strengths are his mastery of design and use of invention, composition and expression.Other paintings by Raphael of Madonna, Child and Saint John
There are several paintings by Raphael with the same trio:- Ansidei MadonnaAnsidei MadonnaThe Ansidei Madonna is a 1505-1507 painting by the Italian High Renaissance artist Raphael, painted during his Florentine period. It shows the Blessed Virgin Mary sitting on a wooden throne, with the child Christ on her lap...
, painted in 1505, is unique in that it shows an adult John the Baptist in the painting with the Christ child. - The Virgin and Child with Saint John the Baptist (La belle jardinière)La belle jardinièreLa belle jardinière, also known as Madonna and Child with Saint John the Baptist, is a painting by the Italian High Renaissance artist Raphael. It was commissioned by the Sienese patrician Fabrizio Sergardi and shows Mary, Christ and the young John the Baptist...
, painted in 1507, is at the Louvre, Paris. - Madonna with the Blue DiademMadonna with the Blue DiademThe Madonna with the Blue Diadem is a painting by Raphael and his pupil Gianfrancesco Penni, probably painted in Rome around 1512, now at the Louvre....
- Alba MadonnaAlba MadonnaThe Alba Madonna is a painting by the Italian High Renaissance artist Raphael, depicting Mary, Jesus and John the Baptist, in a typical Italian countryside. John the Baptist is holding up a cross to Jesus, which the baby Jesus is grasping. All three figures are staring at the cross...
, painted in 1511 during his mature period, is in National Gallery of Art, Washington. - Madonna della seggiolaMadonna della seggiolaThe Madonna della seggiola or Madonna della sedia is a Madonna painting by the Italian renaissance artist Raphael, dating to c. 1513-1514 and housed in the Palazzo Pitti collection in Florence...
- Madonna dell'Impannata
- Madonna della tendaMadonna della tendaThe Madonna della tenda is a 1514 painting by the Italian renaissance artist Raphael. It shows Mary embracing the child Christ, while the young John the Baptist watches. The design of the painting resembles that of the Madonna della seggiola from the same period....
- Madonna of the RoseMadonna of the Rose (Raphael)The Madonna of the Rose is a 1518-1520 painting, now in the Museo del Prado in Madrid. Its attribution as by Raphael is uncertain, and the involvement of Giulio Romano cannot be excluded.-External links:*...
Provenance
ProvenanceProvenance
Provenance, from the French provenir, "to come from", refers to the chronology of the ownership or location of an historical object. The term was originally mostly used for works of art, but is now used in similar senses in a wide range of fields, including science and computing...
refers to the history of ownership of a work of art. Tracing the provenance tells who owned the painting and can lead to the painting's artist. Raphael’s Aldobrandini Madonna, now of the London National Gallery.
In the 16th century the painting was owned by the Aldobrandini family who owned apartments in the Villa Borghese
Villa Borghese
Villa Borghese may refer to:*The Villa Borghese Pinciana , the villa built by the architect Flaminio Ponzio , developing sketches by Scipione Borghese, who used it as a villa suburbana, a party villa, at the edge of Rome, and to house his art collection.**The Galleria...
in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
. Raphael painted a number of Madonnas that passed into the Aldobrandini
Aldobrandini
The Aldobrandini are an Italian noble family from Florence, with close ties to the Vatican. Its Roman fortunes were made when Ippolito Aldobrandini became pope under the name Pope Clement VIII. He arranged the marriage that linked the Aldobrandini with the Roman family of Pamphili...
family; Virgin and Child with Saint John may have been in the collection of Lucrezia d’Este (d. 1598), inventoried in 1592, that came to the Aldobrandinis. The National Gallery’s painting is most likely identical to the painting in Jacomo Manilli's Villa Borghese guidebook in 1650 titled ‘Vergine, con Christo, e San Giouannino, ... di Raffaelle’ (‘Virgin with Christ, and Saint John, … by Raphael’). In the 1780s art critic Basilius von Ramdohr
Basilius von Ramdohr
Friedrich Wilhelm Basilius von Ramdohr was a German conservative lawyer, art critic and journalist based in Dresden. From 1806 he was a Prussian diplomat to Rome and Naples.-Life:...
noted that the painting was still kept in Prince Aldobrandini's apartments, verified by the National Gallery to Seroux d’Agincourt’s illustrated publication of 1823, which includes a sketch of the painting and states that the painting can be seen at Prince Aldobrandini's apartment, and is notated in the margin:
- "A most precious small painting of his middle period. The composition is very good. The Christ is beautiful, and the Saint John true, only the head of the Madonna compared with the others, is less beautiful. The disegno is most delicate. One notices from the colouring that the master had painted a lot al fresco at that time. The inks are not very much rubbed."
Per the National Gallery, and in contradiction to the Agincourt publication, the painting was acquired by George Canning, 1st Lord Garvagh
George Canning, 1st Baron Garvagh
George Canning, 1st Baron Garvagh FRS was an Anglo-Irish Member of Parliament.Garvagh was the son of Paul Canning and the grandson of Stratford Canning of Garvagh in County Londonderry. Prime Minister George Canning and the diplomat Stratford Canning, 1st Viscount Stratford de Redcliffe, were his...
in 1818 from Alexander Day
Alexander Day (artist)
Alexander Day , a miniature painter and art dealer.Day resided for several years in Rome, whence he brought with him on his return to England in 1800 many fine works by the old masters, which passed into the collections of John Julius Angerstein and others. Among these were Titian's Rape of...
's collection before it was sold in 1865 to the National Gallery by his widow and heirs for ₤9,000.