Garvagh Madonna
The Garvagh Madonna (also known as the Aldobrandini Madonna) is an oil painting by the Italian Renaissance artist Raphael, dating to c. 1509–1510. It depicts the Virgin, the Christ Child and the infant John the Baptist, and is one of many paintings by Raphael with this trio. It is from early in the artist's third, or Roman period, in which distinctive changes are seen from his Umbrian or Florentine period in style and use of colour, with the introduction of more natural subjects and settings.
Owned for centuries by the aristocratic Roman Aldobrandini family, the painting has been in 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 Lord and Lady Garvagh.
Description
One of several small and mid-size Madonnas painted by Raphael in Rome, the Garvagh Madonna is likely to have been something Raphael worked on in his spare time when he was engaged on projects for the Pope or members of his court.[1] During this period, Raphael was painting the Stanza della Segnatura,[2] the first room in the Vatican Palace to receive Raphael and his workshop's frescoes.[3]
Exploratory sketches of this and other Madonnas from 1509 to 1511 are found in Raphael's "pink sketch-book".[1] The Garvagh Madonna is one of several Madonnas by Raphael with a pyramidal composition.
The scene 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 Virgin, who is seated on a bench.[4] The Christ Child sits naturally in the lap of the Virgin and is handed a carnation, a symbol of his future Passion, by Saint John.[1] The painting has been highly regarded for its sweetness, grace, beauty and technical skill. Only the discreet ring haloes imply anything other than a very human scene.[5] It has been observed that the drapery around the Virgin's lap does not seem to indicate sufficient room for her legs.[6]
Relationship of the Christ Child and John the Baptist
Raphael appears to have a special affinity for the relationship between the infant Jesus and his similarly aged cousin John. This was probably due to the special relationship that they would enjoy as they went through adulthood. Raphael clothes the infant John here, and other paintings of the trio, in a little skin garment, like the cloths of the desert as described in the Bible, "camel's hair and with a girdle of skin about his loins".[7]
Comparison to paintings from Raphael's Florentine period
Raphael's Madonnas from his early Roman years had evolved from those of his Umbrian and Florentine periods, and are more informal in dress and pose. At the same time, the composition is more complex.[1] The colours are cooler, jewel-toned, an experiment with the dominant colours of the School of Athens,[2] and bright, as if on porcelain.[6]
The painting contrasts significantly with the Ansidei Madonna (1505) of Raphael's earlier Florentine period, influenced by the strict expression of divinity of the Umbrian School. Here the Virgin 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.[8] And yet, there is a severity to this Madonna which will ease into a greater naturalness, such as in the Alba Madonna slightly later into the artist's Roman period.[9]
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".[10]
A strong influence in Raphael's growth as an artist in Rome was Michelangelo.[11] Aspects of the composition of the Garvagh Madonna are also similar to the Madonna Litta ascribed to Leonardo da Vinci, such as the portrait-format painting of figures in front of two windows overlooking the countryside, as well as the style of the Virgin's clothing.[12]
The 19th-century art historian Ralph Nicholson Wornum wrote that Raphael, in the Garvagh Madonna and in other works of his Roman period, had "exhibited a nearer approximation to perfection than any other painter".[13]
Other paintings by Raphael of the Virgin and Child with Saint John
There are several paintings by Raphael with the same trio:
- Ansidei Madonna (1505), National Gallery, London; depicts an adult John the Baptist with an infant Christ
- La belle jardinière (1507), Louvre, Paris[14]
- Madonna with the Blue Diadem (c. 1510–1512), Louvre, Paris; with Gianfrancesco Penni
- Alba Madonna (1511), National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.[15]
- Madonna della Seggiola (c. 1513–1514), Palazzo Pitti, Florence
- Madonna dell'Impannata (c. 1513–1514), Palazzo Pitti, Florence
- Madonna della Tenda (c. 1513–1514), Alte Pinakothek, Munich
- Madonna of the Rose (1518–1520), Museo del Prado, Madrid
Provenance
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 which passed into that family; this Virgin and Child with Saint John may have been in the collection of Lucrezia d'Este (d. 1598), inventoried in 1592, which came to the Aldobrandini. 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 the art critic Basilius von Ramdohr noted that the painting was still kept in Prince Aldobrandini's apartments, verified by the National Gallery from Jean Baptiste Seroux d'Agincourt's illustrated publication of 1823, which includes a sketch of the painting and states that it 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."
According to the National Gallery, and in contradiction to Seroux d'Agincourt, 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.[16][17]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d Chapman, H.; Henry, T.; Plazzotta, C. (2004). Raphael, from Urbino to Rome. London: National Gallery Company. p. 253. ISBN 1-85709-999-0. Retrieved 10 March 2011.
- ^ a b Joannides, P. (1983). The Drawings of Raphael: With a Complete Catalogue. Berkeley and Los Angeles, CA: University of California Press. p. 21. ISBN 0-520-05087-8.
- ^ "Room of the Segnatura (1508–1511)". Vatican City: Vatican Museums. 2003–2007. Retrieved 11 March 2011.
- ^ Fraprie, R. (1912). The Raphael Book: An Account of the Life of Raphael Santi of Urbino. Boston: L. C. Page & Company. pp. 179–180.
- ^ Farrar, F. (1900) [1894]. The Life of Christ as Represented in Art. London: The Macmillan Company. p. 166.
- ^ a b Dryhurst, A. (1905). Raphael. London: Methuen & Company. pp. 111–112.
- ^ Hurll, E. (1895). Child-Life in Art. Boston: Joseph Knight Company. p. 151.
- ^ Ruskin, J. (1888). A Popular Handbook to the National Gallery. Vol. 1. London: MacMillan & Company. p. 113.
- ^ Müntz, E. (1882). Armstrong, W (ed.). Raphael; His Life, Works and Times. London: Chapman and Hall. p. 377.
- ^ Sweetser, M. (1877). Raphael. Boston: James R. Osgood & Company. p. 54.
- ^ Addison, J. (1906). The Art of the National Gallery. Boston: L. C. Page & Company. p. 90.
- ^ Müntz, E. (1898). Leonardo da Vinci: Artist, Thinker and Man of Science. Vol. 1. London: William Heinemann. p. 175.
- ^ Wornum, R. (1864). The Epochs of Painting: a Biographical and Critical Essay on Painting and Painters. London: Chapman & Hall. p. 207.
- ^ "The Virgin and Child with Saint John the Baptist (La Belle Jardiniere)". Retrieved 10 March 2011.
- ^ "The Alba Madonna". Retrieved 10 March 2011.
- ^ "Studying Raphael: provenance". London: The National Gallery. Retrieved 23 July 2022. More details can be found by clicking on "Find out more about history of this painting" at the bottom of the page.
- ^ Catalogue of the Pictures in the National Gallery. London: Printers for Her Majesty's Stationery Office. 1889. p. 402.
External links
- Media related to Aldobrandini Madonna by Raphael in the National Gallery, London at Wikimedia Commons
- v
- t
- e
- Baronci Altarpiece (1500–1501)
- Saint Sebastian (1501–1502)
- Resurrection of Christ (1499–1502)
- Mond Crucifixion (1502–1503)
- Madonna and Child with the Book (c. 1503)
- Solly Madonna (c. 1500–1504)
- Oddi Altar (1502–1504)
- Conestabile Madonna (c. 1502–1504)
- Portrait of a Man (c. 1503–1504)
- Vision of a Knight (1503–1504)
- The Marriage of the Virgin (1504)
- Diotallevi Madonna (c. 1504)
- Portrait of Perugino 1 (c. 1504)
- Colonna Altarpiece (c. 1503–1505)
- Saint George (c. 1503–1505)
- Three Graces (c. 1503–1505)
- Saint Michael (c. 1504–1505)
- Christ Blessing (c. 1502–1504)
- Portrait of Pietro Bembo (c. 1504)
- Portrait of Elisabetta Gonzaga 2 (c. 1504–1505)
- Portrait of Emilia Pia da Montefeltro 2 (c. 1504–1505)
- Small Cowper Madonna (c. 1504–1505)
- Terranuova Madonna (c. 1504–1505)
- Madonna del Granduca (c. 1505)
- Saint George and the Dragon (c. 1505)
- Young Man with an Apple (c. 1505)
- Self-portrait (1504–1506)
- La donna gravida (1505–1506)
- Madonna del Cardellino (c. 1505–1506)
- Young Woman with Unicorn (c. 1505–1506)
- Madonna del Prato (1506)
- Madonna with Beardless Saint Joseph (c. 1506)
- Portrait of Agnolo Doni (c. 1506)
- Portrait of Guidobaldo da Montefeltro (c. 1506)
- Portrait of Maddalena Doni (c. 1506)
- Ansidei Madonna (1505–1507)
- Madonna of the Pinks (c. 1506–1507)
- Bridgewater Madonna (c. 1507–1508)
- The Deposition (1507)
- Madonna of the Baldacchino (c. 1506–1508)
- La belle jardinière (1507–1508) (completed by Ridolfo Ghirlandaio)
- Canigiani Holy Family (c. 1507–1508)
- Colonna Madonna (c. 1507–1508)
- Portrait of a Young Woman (La Muta) (c. 1507–1508)
- Esterhazy Madonna (c. 1508)
- Niccolini-Cowper Madonna (1508)
- Tempi Madonna (1508)
- Saint Catherine of Alexandria (c. 1507–1509)
- Portrait of Tommaso Inghirami (c. 1509)
- Garvagh Madonna (c. 1509–1510)
- Portrait of Cardinal Alessandro Farnese (c. 1509–1511)
- Portrait of a Cardinal (c. 1510–1511)
- Alba Madonna (c. 1511)
- Madonna of Loreto (c. 1511)
- The Prophet Isaiah (1511–1512)
- Madonna of Foligno (c. 1511–1512)
- Portrait of Pope Julius II (1511, 1512)
- Galatea (c. 1512)
- Madonna with the Fish (c. 1512–1514)
- Madonna della Seggiola (c. 1513–1514)
- Madonna of the Candelabra (c. 1513–1514)
- Sistine Madonna (c. 1513–1514)
- Madonna dell'Impannata (c. 1513–1514)
- Madonna della Tenda (c. 1513–1514)
- Portrait of a Young Man (c. 1513–1514)
- Sibyls (1514)
- Portrait of Bindo Altoviti (c. 1512–1515)
- Portrait of Baldassare Castiglione (c. 1514–1515)
- Christ Falling on the Way to Calvary (c. 1514–1516)
- Creation of the World (1516)
- Portrait of Andrea Navagero and Agostino Beazzano (1516)
- Portrait of Cardinal Bibbiena (c. 1516)
- La velata (c. 1516)
- Visitation (c. 1517)
- The Ecstasy of Saint Cecilia (c. 1514–1517)
- Madonna with the Blue Diadem (c. 1510–1518)
- Holy Family of Francis I (1518)
- Saint Michael Vanquishing Satan (1518)
- Ezekiel's Vision (c. 1518)
- Portrait of Doña Isabel de Requesens y Enríquez de Cardona-Anglesola (with Giulio Romano) (c. 1518)
- Saint Margaret and the Dragon (c. 1518)
- La Fornarina (1518–1519)
- Small Holy Family (c. 1518–1519) (with Giulio Romano)
- Portrait of a Young Woman (c. 1518–1519) (with Giulio Romano)
- Transfiguration (1516–1520)
- Madonna de Bogota (c. 1517–1520)
- Portrait of Pope Leo X with Two Cardinals (c. 1518–1520)
- Madonna of the Rose (1518–1520)
- Self-Portrait with a Friend (1518–1520)
- The Parnassus (1509–1511)
- The School of Athens (1509–1511)
- Disputation of the Holy Sacrament (1510–1511)
- Cardinal and Theological Virtues (1511)
- The Expulsion of Heliodorus from the Temple (1511–1512)
- The Mass at Bolsena (1512–1514)
- The Meeting of Leo the Great and Attila (1513–1514)
- Deliverance of Saint Peter (1514)
- The Fire in the Borgo (c. 1514–1517) (executed by Giulio Romano)
- Miraculous Draught of Fishes (1514–1516)
- Christ's Charge to Peter (1514–1516)
- Healing of the Lame Man (1514–1516)
- Death of Ananias (1514–1516)
- Conversion of the Proconsul (1514–1516)
- Sacrifice at Lystra (1514–1516)
- Saint Paul Preaching in Athens (1514–1516)
- Lucretia (1500s)
- Adoration of the Shepherds (c. 1508)
- Jonah (1520) (executed by Lorenzetto)
- Elijah (c. 1520–1524) (executed by Lorenzetto and Raffaello da Montelupo)
- Chigi Chapel (1507–1520) (continued by other architects)
- Palazzo Jacopo da Brescia (1515–1519)
- Palazzo Branconio dell'Aquila (c. 1520)
- Sant'Eligio degli Orefici (1509–1575) (completed by Baldassare Peruzzi and Bastiano da Sangallo)
- Villa Madama (1518–1525) (completed by Antonio da Sangallo the Younger and other disciples)
- Villa Farnesina (decoration)
- Giovanni Santi (father)
- Imperia Cognati (mistress and model)
- Margarita Luti (mistress and model)
- Giulio Romano (disciple and collaborator)
- Raphael and La Fornarina (1813 painting)
- Raphael (1894 opera)
- La Fornarina (1944 film)
- Raffaello Multi-Purpose Logistics Module
- SS Raffaello
- Raphael (crater)
- Vatican loggias
- 1 Also attributed to Lorenzo di Credi
- 2 Attributed