Sistine Madonna painting size. "Sistine Madonna" by Raphael. Color and time

Raphael "Sistine Madonna":
History of the painting

Rafael was happy artist Absorbed by an abundance of honorable and grandiose orders, glorified by his admirers, he worked quickly and joyfully. Creativity was never a bitter torment for him.

Humanists contemporary to Raphael believed that in order to be understandable to the people, the poet must speak in the language “vulgare”. For the same purposes, some Renaissance artists turned to ancient folk legends and colored them with the colors of their imagination.
In Raphael's painting, the appearance of the Madonna to the deceased Pope Julius II turned into an appearance to her people, which was told about in ancient legends. In such legends, the people’s aspirations for justice, desire and need were expressed. ordinary people imagine the heavenly queen and patroness in close proximity. However, Raphael did not limit himself to just retelling the medieval legend.

In the history of creation itself famous work Raphael is still shrouded in mystery. Some art historians believe that his Mary has almost lost the halo of holiness - the crown does not shimmer on her head, there are no brocade fabrics behind her. On the contrary, she is wearing a blanket and a cloak of smooth fabric, her feet are bare, and, in essence, she is a simple woman. No wonder many people noticed that she was holding the baby the way peasant women usually hold them. But this barefoot woman is admired by the wind as a queen - the mistress of heaven. Pope Sixtus took off the tiara in front of her and carefully placed it in the corner. The earthly ruler, like the Magi before the Christmas manger, bares his forehead, and an old man appears before the viewer, almost trembling with excitement.

Other researchers believe that in this solemn Madonna, on the contrary, there is nothing earthly - this is a deity clothed in human form. Her face still resembles the familiar features of Fornarina, but the features are transformed. Surrounded by a host of angels, standing on the clouds, the Madonna presents to the world her divine Son.

Different generations, different people each saw their own in the “Sistine Madonna.” Some saw in it only religious content, others saw the moral philosophy hidden in it, and others valued artistic perfection in it. But these three aspects are inseparable from each other

Raphael created the Sistine Madonna around 1516. By this time, he had already painted many paintings depicting the Mother of God. Very young, Raphael became famous as an amazing master and incomparable poet of the image of the Madonna. The St. Petersburg Hermitage houses the Conestabile Madonna, which was created by a seventeen-year-old artist. In the Pitti Gallery there is his “Madonna in an Armchair”, in the Prado Museum - “Madonna with a Fish”, in the Vatican Pinacoteca - “Madonna del Foligno”, other Madonnas have become treasures of other museums. But when the time came to write his main work, Raphael left numerous works to his students in the Vatican Palace in order to paint with his own hands an altarpiece for the monastery church of St. Sixtus in distant Piacenza.

Altarpieces were then painted on boards, but Raphael painted this Madonna of his on canvas. At first, the Sistine Madonna was located in the semicircular choir of the monastery church (now defunct), and the towering figure of Our Lady from afar seemed to be floating in the air. In 1754, the painting was acquired by King Augustus III of Saxony and brought to his Dresden residence. The court of the Saxon electors paid 20,000 sequins for it - a considerable sum for those times. And now that visitors famous Gallery They come closer to the picture, they are more strongly overwhelmed by the new impression. The Mother of God no longer floats in the air, but seems to be coming towards you

The parapet at the bottom of the picture is the only barrier that separates the earthly world from the heavenly world. As if in reality, the green curtain has parted to the sides, and Mary with the divine son in her arms appears before your eyes. She walks, and it seems that now the Mother of God will step over the parapet and step on the ground, but this moment lasts forever. The Madonna remains motionless, always ready to descend and always inaccessible.

There is no earth or sky in the picture, there is no familiar landscape or architectural decoration in the depths. All free space between the figures is filled with clouds, more dense and dark at the bottom, more transparent and radiant at the top. The heavy, senile figure of Saint Sixtus, buried in the heavy folds of the golden-woven papal vestments, froze in solemn worship. His hand extended to us eloquently emphasizes main idea the paintings are the appearance of the Mother of God to people.

On the other side, Saint Barbara is leaning, and both figures seem to support Mary, forming a closed circle around her. Some call these figures auxiliary, secondary, but if you remove them (even if only mentally) or even slightly change their position in space, the harmony of the whole will immediately be destroyed. The meaning of the whole picture and the very image of Mary will change.
Reverently and tenderly, Madonna presses her son, sitting in her arms, to her chest. Neither mother nor child can be imagined separately from each other; their existence is possible only in indissoluble unity. Mary, the human intercessor, carries her son towards the people. Her lonely procession expresses all the mournful and tragic sacrifice to which the Mother of God is doomed.

The world of “The Sistine Madonna” is unusually complex, although, at first glance, nothing in the picture foretells trouble. And yet, the viewer is haunted by a feeling of impending anxiety. A sweet-voiced choir of angels sings, filling the sky (background of the canvas) and praising Mary. The kneeling Sixtus does not take his rapturous gaze off the Mother of God, and Saint Barbara humbly lowered her eyes. It seems that nothing threatens the peace of Mary and her son. But alarming shadows run and run along the folds of clothes and draperies. Clouds swirl under the Madonna’s feet, the very radiance surrounding her and the Infant of God promises a storm.

All eyes characters paintings are sent to different sides, and only Mary and the divine child look at us. Raphael depicted a wonderful vision on his canvas and accomplished the seemingly impossible. The whole picture is full of internal movement, illuminated by a quivering light, as if the canvas itself was emitting a mysterious glow. This light now barely glimmers, now shines, now almost sparkles. And this pre-storm state is reflected on the face of the infant Christ, his face is full of anxiety. He seems to see the lightning of an approaching thunderstorm, in his childishly stern eyes a reflection of distant troubles is visible, for “I did not bring you peace, but a sword...”. He clings to his mother's breast, but restlessly peers into the world. . The Russian poet N. Ogarev spoke about Raphael:
“How he understood this child, sad and thoughtful, who “anticipates his great future.”

They say that Raphael wrote The Sistine Madonna at a time when he himself was experiencing severe grief. And so I put all my sadness into divine face his Madonna is the most perfect embodiment of the ideal in Christianity. He created the most beautiful image Mother of God, combining in him the features of the highest religious ideality with the highest humanity.

The “Sistine Madonna” has long been admired, and many beautiful words have been said about her. And in the last century, Russian writers and artists, as if on a pilgrimage, went to Dresden - to the “Sistine Madonna”. They saw in her not only a perfect work of art, but also the highest measure of human nobility.

V.A. Zhukovsky speaks of the “Sistine Madonna” as an embodied miracle, as a poetic revelation, and admits that it was created not for the eyes, but for the soul: “This is not a picture, but a vision; The longer you look, the more convinced you are that something unnatural is happening in front of you...
And this is not a deception of the imagination: it is not seduced here by the liveliness of the colors or the outer brilliance. Here the soul of the painter, without any tricks of art, but with amazing ease and simplicity, conveyed to the canvas the miracle that took place in its interior.” A.S. Pushkin knew the painting from an engraving reproduction, and it made a very strong impression on him. The poet repeatedly recalled Raphael's masterpiece, and, praising the pensive eyes of the shy beauty, he likens her to Raphael's angel.

The most enthusiastic admirer of “The Sistine Madonna” among Russian writers was F.M. Dostoevsky. Once he was passionately indignant when, in his presence, a certain artist began to disassemble in professional language artistic merit paintings. Many heroes of the writer's novels are characterized through their attitude to Raphael's Madonna.
For example, in spiritual development Arkady (“Teenager”) leaves a deep impression on the engraving he saw depicting the Madonna.
The governor's wife Yulia Mikhailovna (“Demons”) spent two hours in front of the painting, but, as a society lady, she did not understand anything about it.
Stepan Trofimovich, on the contrary, feels an urgent need to write about this masterpiece, but he was never destined to fulfill his intention.
Svidrigailov (“Crime and Punishment”) recalls the face of the Madonna, whom he calls the “mournful holy fool,” and this statement allows the reader to see the depth of his moral decline.

Russian artists also carefully studied the Sistine Madonna.
Karl Bryullov admired: “The more you look, the more you feel the incomprehensibility of these beauties: every feature is thought out, filled with an expression of grace, connected with in the strictest style».
A. Ivanov copied her and was tormented by the consciousness of his inability to grasp her main charm.
Kramskoy admitted in a letter to his wife that only in the original he noticed many things that were not noticeable in any of the copies. He was especially interested in universal meaning creations of Raphael:
“This is something really almost impossible...
Whether Mary really was the way she is depicted here, no one ever knew and, of course, does not know, with the exception of her contemporaries, who, however, do not tell us anything good about her. But this way at least, created it religious feelings and the beliefs of mankind... Raphael's Madonna is truly a great work and truly eternal, even when humanity stops believing, when scientific research... truly reveals historical features both of these persons6... and then the painting will not lose its value, but only its role will change.”

And during the Second World War, humanity could have lost Raphael’s masterpiece forever. Before their collapse, the Nazis hid the paintings of the famous Dresden Gallery in damp limestone mines and were ready to completely blow up and destroy priceless treasures, as long as they don’t fall into the hands of the Russians. But by order of the Soviet command, soldiers of the First Ukrainian Front searched for two months greatest masterpieces Galleries.
« Sistine Madonna"of the great Raphael was in a box that was made of thin, but durable and well-finished planks. At the bottom of the box there was thick cardboard, and inside the box there was a frame covered with felt, on which the painting rested. But during the war days the box could not serve reliable protection. In an instant it could burst into flames, and...
When the box was opened, a wondrous woman appeared before the people, her radiant eyes wide open, unearthly beauty with a divine baby in her arms. AND soviet soldiers and the officers, who had walked the hard roads of war for several years, took off their caps and caps in front of her...
"One Hundred Great Paintings" by N.A. Ionin, Veche Publishing House, 2002

What does this picture tell me? "Sistine Madonna" by Raphael

What does this picture tell me?

"Sistine Madonna" by Raphael.
Psychoanalyst Andrei Rossokhin and art critic Marina Khaikina choose one painting and tell us about what they know and feel. For what? So that, while (dis)agreeing with them, we realize more clearly own attitude to the picture, the plot, the artist and to ourselves.

“The Sistine Madonna” (Gallery of Old Masters, Dresden, Germany) was painted by Raphael Santi in 1514, commissioned by Pope Julius II. The work was intended for the Benedictine monastery of St. Sixtus.

Marina Khaikina, art critic:
“WE ENTER INTO DIALOGUE WITH THE DIVINE”
“Through the slightly open curtain, Mary with the Child in her arms comes down to meet us through the clouds, in which cherubs can be seen. Madonna looks directly at the viewer, and we meet her gaze. The feeling of movement is conveyed by the folds of the dress, which sway in the wind. At the bottom of the canvas there is a marble parapet, from behind which two angels peek thoughtfully - the most replicated and famous image Renaissance. It is believed that Raphael saw these two boys on the street, dreamily frozen at the bakery window, and transferred them to his canvas. The figure of Saint Sixtus (on the left) can be recognized as Pope Julius II, and in Saint Barbara (on the right) his niece Giulia Orsini.

The abundance of air gives a feeling of freedom and lightness, which for Raphael accompany the solemn moment. The direct connection between the earthly and the heavenly, the connection of views is emphasized by the theatricality of the composition: we see the curtain, the cornice on which it is attached, all this looks like a stage where the action is taking place. The main thing is the moment of divine appearance, a moment that the artist has the right to depict, and the viewer has the right to participate in it. Here Raphael had no predecessors. Formerly artists depicted one or two figures that pointed to the Madonna and thereby drew the viewer into the picture. Here everything is decided differently. Maria herself looks into our eyes, talks to us, she is not somewhere, she is here. It's about not about how believers imagine the divine, but about its appearance and dialogue with it. Only a Renaissance artist - a creator who considered himself equal to God - could decide to implement such a dialogue. That is why Michelangelo dared to depict how God and man are connected by an inextricable thread, Leonardo placed Jesus level with the monks eating, and Raphael looked into the eyes of the Madonna.”


, psychoanalyst:
“HE KNOWS HE CAN’T HOLD HER”

“The direct perception of the picture is hampered by the image imposed by centuries - it encourages us to see in Raphael’s Madonna the delight of religious triumph, the transformation of the human into the divine, the earthly into the eternal, harmony that ennobles the soul... I well understand the doubts of Leo Tolstoy, who once remarked: “The Sistine Madonna" does not evoke any feeling, but only a painful anxiety about whether I am experiencing the feeling that is required." Keyword"worry" here. Many researchers have written about the anxiety emanating from the painting, explaining it by the fact that Raphael wanted to convey the pain of his mother, who foresaw the suffering of her son. I, too, when immersed in a picture, feel anxiety and even fear, but only for a different reason. Behind Madonna, in the background of the picture, I see barely noticeable faces of people (it is believed that these are angels depicted in the form of clouds). Their gazes are greedily fixed on Madonna. Why are they all behind the curtain? Is the artist going to let these people in or, on the contrary, does he want to quickly close the curtain in order to leave them there and protect Madonna from their views? If you look closely, there are a lot of adults there, male faces With open mouths, little like angels. They seem disgusting and dangerous, as if they are chasing Madonna, trying to break through to her, to “absorb” her. To understand the meaning that Raphael unconsciously put into this background, you need to know the history of the creation of the painting. It is believed that the prototype of the Madonna was Raphael's mistress, Margherita Luti, the daughter of a baker. She often cheated on him, which made him suffer and be very jealous of her. I suppose that unconsciously in these faces behind the Madonna's back, Raphael depicted those men who swarmed around her and wanted to seduce her. Apparently, the artist blamed them. And he tried to cleanse his flighty beloved from sinful earthly passions, to deify him. And there is also a reason for this. Rafael lost his mother very early, at the age of eight. And three years later his father died. Perhaps, in the three childish figures (the angels and the baby Christ are similar to each other, as if they reflected the three childish “I” of Raphael himself), the artist wanted to convey his pain and sadness associated with the loss of his mother and father. One of them, sitting in his mother’s arms, already anticipates her early death. The two angels at the bottom of the picture are leaning on the coffin lid. The one on the right is full of melancholic feelings and sadness. The second angel turns his gaze, full of hope, to the Madonna, as if believing in the resurrection of his dead mother. It is interesting that the prototype of these two angels was two boys looking at the window of a bakery that was inaccessible to them. This is the most important circumstance if we remember that Raphael’s mistress was the baker’s daughter. Raphael hoped to find lost mother in his beloved and at the same time was sure that he would lose her, just like his mother. And therefore he could not treat her as a depraved woman. He needed to deify her and make her immortal in order to love her as a mother too. So I feel a double tension in the picture - male passion, burning jealousy and the deepest childhood pain from the loss of a mother, a naive dream of her resurrection. Perhaps, consciously depicting the suffering of the Madonna, foreseeing the loss of her son, he unconsciously put a different meaning into this picture - his own doom and the knowledge that he would not be able to keep his woman either as a lover or as a mother.”


Raphael Santi (1483-1520), Italian painter, graphic artist, Renaissance architect. Worked in Perugia, Urbino, Florence. At the age of 25 he moved to Rome, where he was appointed official artist of the papal court. Throughout his life he painted Madonnas (42 paintings are known), multi-figure compositions, and portraits. For six years he supervised the construction of St. Peter's in Rome.

Raffaello Santi or Raffaello Sanzio

Italian painter and architect. Graphic, representative of the Umbrian school.

Rafael lost his parents early. The mother, Margie Charla, died in 1491, and the father, Giovanni Santi, died in 1494.

Raphael, son of the painter Giovanni Santi, early years spent in Urbino. In 1500-1504, Raphael, according to Vasari, studied with the artist Perugino in Perugia. The works of this period of Raphael's work are marked by subtle poetry and soft lyricism of landscape backgrounds

From 1504, Raphael worked in Florence, where he became acquainted with the works of Leonardo da Vinci and Fra Bartolommeo, and studied anatomy and scientific perspective. Moving to Florence played a role huge role in the creative development of Raphael. Of primary importance for the artist was familiarity with the method of the great Leonardo da Vinci.

The first order in Florence comes from Agnolo Doni for portraits of him and his wife, the latter painted by Raphael under the obvious impression of La Gioconda. It was for Agnolo Doni that Michelangelo Buonarroti created the tondo “Madonna Doni” at this time.

In Florence, Raphael created about 20 Madonnas. Although the plots are standard: the Madonna either holds the Child in her arms, or he plays next to John the Baptist, all Madonnas are individual and are distinguished by a special maternal charm (apparently early death mother left a deep imprint on Raphael’s soul).

Raphael received an invitation from Pope Julius II to Rome, where he was able to become more familiar with ancient monuments and took part in archaeological excavations.

Having moved to Rome, the 26-year-old master received the position of “artist of the Apostolic See” and the assignment to paint the state rooms of the Vatican Palace, from 1514 he supervised the construction of St. Peter’s Cathedral, worked in the field of church and palace architecture, in 1515 he was appointed Commissioner of Antiquities, responsible for the study and protection of ancient monuments, archaeological excavations.

IN last years During his life, Raphael was so overloaded with orders that he entrusted the execution of many of them to his students and assistants (Giulio Romano, Giovanni da Udine, Perino del Vaga, Francesco Penni and others), usually limiting himself to general supervision of the work.

Raphael was also an architect. After Bramante's death, he completed the construction of St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. In addition, he built a church, a chapel, and several palazzos in Rome.

Raphael had many students, however, the most famous of them gained fame thanks to his pornographic drawings. Raphael could not tell his secrets to anyone. Later his paintings inspired Rubens, Rembrandt, Manet, Modigliani.

The artist lived for 37 years. It is impossible to say exactly the cause of death. Under one version, due to fever. According to another, because of intemperance, which has become a way of life. On his tomb in the Pantheon there is an epitaph: “Here lies great Raphael, during whose life nature was afraid of being defeated, and after his death she was afraid to die.”

All his paintings, individually, are masterpieces. But today we will tell you about a painting called “The Sistine Madonna.”

Sistine Madonna

Madonna Sistina

A painting by Raphael, which has been in the Old Masters Gallery in Dresden since 1754. It belongs to the generally recognized peaks of the High Renaissance.

Of all the paintings, Raphael’s most perfect creation was the famous “Sistine Madonna” (1512-1513).

This painting was commissioned by Julius II for the altar of the church of the monastery of St. Sixtus in Piacenza. “The Sistine Madonna is truly symphonic. The interweaving and meeting of lines and masses of this canvas amazes with its internal rhythm and harmony. But the most phenomenal thing in this large canvas is the painter’s mysterious ability to bring all the lines, all the shapes, all the colors into such a wondrous correspondence that they serve only one, the artist’s main desire - to make us look, look tirelessly into the sad eyes of Mary.”

“I wanted to be an eternal viewer of one picture,” said Pushkin about the “Sistine Madonna.”

This Renaissance masterpiece was first painted by the artist without the help of his students and showed the Mother of God literally descending on the viewer, turning her soft gaze on him.

Many said that the painting was created at a time when Raphael was experiencing personal grief, so he put his sadness into the image of a beautiful maiden with sad eyes. In the mother's gaze, the viewer is able to read excitement and humility - feelings caused by the anticipation of the inevitable tragic fate own son. Madonna tenderly hugs the child to herself, as if sensing the moment when she will have to tear the tender baby away from her heart and introduce the Savior to humanity.

Initially, the “Sistine Madonna” was conceived as an altar image for the chapel of the monastery of St. Sixtus. At that time, for such work, craftsmen “trained their hands” on wooden board, but Raphael Santi depicted the Mother of God on canvas, and soon her figure towered majestically above the semicircular choir of the church.
The artist depicted his Madonna barefoot, covered in a simple veil and devoid of an aura of holiness. In addition, many viewers noted that the woman was holding the child in her arms the way simple peasant women did. Despite the fact that the Virgin is deprived of the visible attributes of high origin, other characters in the picture greet her as a queen.

Young Barbara expresses reverence for the Madonna with her gaze, and Saint Sixtus kneels before her and extends his hand, which marks the symbol of the appearance of the Mother of God to people. If you look closely, it seems as if Sixt’s outstretched hand “flaunts” six fingers. There were legends that by doing so Rafael wanted to beat original name bishop of Rome, which is translated from Latin as “sixth.” In fact, the presence of an extra finger is just an illusion, and the viewer sees the inside of Sixtus’ palm.

–The more you look, the more you feel the incomprehensibility of these beauties: every feature is thought out, filled with an expression of grace, combined with the strictest style. Karl Bryullov.

There are many legends surrounding this painting.

One of them says that the prototype of the legendary Madonna was Fornarina, the artist’s beloved woman and model. But in friendly letter to Baldassare Castiglione, the master said that he created the image of perfect beauty not with a certain girl, but synthesized his impressions of many beauties that Raphael was destined to meet.

According to Stam, “his forehead (the Christ child) is not childishly high, and his eyes are not at all childishly serious. However, in their gaze we see neither edification, nor forgiveness, nor reconciling consolation... His eyes look at the world that has opened before them intently, intensely, with bewilderment and fear.” And at the same time, in the gaze of Christ one can read the determination to follow the will of God the Father, the determination to sacrifice oneself for the salvation of humanity.

Raphael wrote the holy pope pointing out right hand on the altar crucifix. It is curious that the artist depicted six fingers on the pontiff’s hand - another six encrypted in the painting. The high priest's left hand is pressed to his chest as a sign of devotion to the Virgin Mary.

Some believe that Raphael depicted the clouds as singing angels. In fact, according to the teachings of the Gnostics, these are not angels, but not yet born souls who reside in heaven and glorify the Almighty.

Raphael received the order to paint the canvas from Pope Julius II. Thus, the pontiff wanted to celebrate the inclusion of Piacenza (a town 60 km southeast of Milan) into the Papal States. The territory was recaptured from the French during the struggle for northern Italian lands. In Piacenza there was the monastery of Saint Sixtus, the patron saint of the Rovere family, to which the pontiff belonged. The monks actively campaigned for annexation to Rome, for which Julius II decided to thank them and ordered an altar image from Raphael in which the Mother of God appears to Saint Sixtus.

It must be said that fame came to her much later after it was written. For two centuries it gathered dust in Piacenza, until mid-18th century centuries, Augustus III, Elector of Saxony and King of Poland, did not buy it, and did not take it to Dresden. Despite the fact that at that time the painting was not considered Raphael’s masterpiece, the monks bargained for two years and raised the price. It didn’t matter to August whether to buy this painting or another, the main thing was Raphael’s brushes. It was his paintings that were missing from the Elector’s collection.

When the Sistine Madonna was brought to Dresden, Augustus III allegedly personally pushed back his throne with the words: “Make way for the great Raphael!” when the bearers hesitated, carrying the masterpiece through the halls of his palace.

The canvas miraculously survived the Second World War. Dresden itself was destroyed to the ground. But the Sistine Madonna, like other paintings in the Dresden Gallery, was hidden in a freight car standing on the rails in an abandoned quarry 30 km south of the city. In May 1945 Soviet troops They found the paintings and brought them to the USSR. Raphael's masterpiece was kept in storage rooms Pushkin Museum 10 years until it was returned along with the entire Dresden collection to the GDR authorities in 1955.

Source-Internet

“The Sistine Madonna” - the secret of the painting of the great Italian artist Rafael Santi updated: December 1, 2017 by: website

Raphael
Sistine Madonna. 1513–1514
Canvas, oil. 265 × 196 cm
Gallery of Old Masters, Dresden. Wikimedia Commons
Clickable - 3028px × 4151px

“The hour that I spent in front of this Madonna belongs to happy hour life: everything was quiet around me; first, with some effort, he entered into himself; then he clearly began to feel that the soul was spreading; some touching feeling of greatness came into her; the indescribable was depicted for her, and she was where only life can be in the best moments. Genius pure beauty was with her." This is how Vasily Zhukovsky described his impressions of meeting Raphael’s masterpiece. What is the secret of the “Sistine Madonna”?

Plot

This is a monumental work. Almost two by two meters. Just think what impression this picture made on people XVI century. It seemed as if Madonna was descending from heaven. Her eyes are not half-closed or looking away or at the baby. She looks at us. Now try to imagine what it looked like in a church setting. People just entered the temple and immediately met their gaze with the Mother of God - her image was visible in the distant future, long before the person approached the altar.

The Madonna is watched by Pope Sixtus II and Saint Barbara. They were real historical characters, whom the church canonized for their torment.

Martyrdom of Saint Sixtus II, XIV century

Pope Sixtus II did not remain on the throne for long - from 257 to 258. His head was cut off under Emperor Valerian. Saint Sixtus was the patron saint of the Italian papal family of Rovere, whose name translates as “oak”, so acorns and leaves of this tree are embroidered on the golden mantle. The same symbol is also present on the papal tiara, the three crowns of which symbolize the kingdom of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Raphael was the first to paint Madonna, who looks into the viewer's eyes

The figures form a triangle. This emphasizes the open curtain. It also makes the viewer a participant in the action, and also symbolizes the open heavens.

The background is not clouds at all, as it might seem, but the heads of babies. These are unborn souls who are still in heaven and glorifying God. The angels below with their dispassionate appearance speak of the inevitability of divine providence. This is a symbol of acceptance.

Context

Raphael received the order to paint the canvas from Pope Julius II. Thus, the pontiff wanted to celebrate the inclusion of Piacenza (a town 60 km southeast of Milan) into the Papal States. The territory was recaptured from the French during the struggle for northern Italian lands. In Piacenza there was the monastery of Saint Sixtus, the patron saint of the Rovere family, to which the pontiff belonged. The monks actively campaigned for annexation to Rome, for which Julius II decided to thank them and ordered an altar image from Raphael in which the Mother of God appears to Saint Sixtus.

The Sistine Madonna was commissioned by Pope Julius II

"Raphael and Fornarina", Jean Ingres, 1813

Legend has it that Fornarina and Raphael met by chance in Rome. The painter was struck by the beauty of the girl, paid her father 3,000 gold pieces and took her to his place. For the next 12 years - until the artist's death - Fornarina was his muse and model. What happened to the woman after Raphael’s death is unknown. According to one version, she became a courtesan in Rome, according to another, she became a nun and soon died.

But let's return to the Sistine Madonna. It must be said that fame came to her much later after it was written. For two centuries it gathered dust in Piacenza, until in the middle of the 18th century it was bought by Augustus III, Elector of Saxony and King of Poland, and took it to Dresden. Despite the fact that at that time the painting was not considered Raphael’s masterpiece, the monks bargained for two years and raised the price. For August it was not important whether to buy this painting or another, the main thing was to buy Raphael’s brushes. It was his paintings that were missing from the Elector’s collection.

Portrait of the King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania Augustus III (1696-1763)
1733. Wikimedia Commons

When the Sistine Madonna was brought to Dresden, Augustus III allegedly personally pushed back his throne with the words: “Make way for the great Raphael!” when the bearers hesitated, carrying the masterpiece through the halls of his palace.

Raphael's mistress may have posed for the Sistine Madonna

The canvas miraculously survived the Second World War. Dresden itself was destroyed to the ground. But the Sistine Madonna, like other paintings in the Dresden Gallery, was hidden in a freight car standing on the rails in an abandoned quarry 30 km south of the city. In May 1945, Soviet troops found the paintings and brought them to the USSR. Raphael's masterpiece was kept in the storerooms of the Pushkin Museum for 10 years, until it was returned along with the entire Dresden collection to the authorities of the GDR in 1955.

The fate of the artist

Raphael worked at a time when the Renaissance reached its culmination of development. He was a contemporary of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo Buonarroti. Raphael carefully studied their technique; it was the right instrument for the execution of artistic ideas.

During his life, Raphael created several dozen Madonnas. Not only because they were often ordered. The theme of love and self-denial was close to the artist; it was one of the most important in his work.

Rafael Santi. Self-portrait
1506, oil on wood, 45 × 33 cm. Wikimedia Commons

Raphael began his career in Florence. In the second half of 1508, he moved to Rome, which at that time became the center of the arts. And this was greatly facilitated by Julius II, who ascended the papal throne. He was an extremely ambitious and enterprising man. He attracted to his court best artists Italy. Including Raphael, who, with the assistance of the architect Bramante, became the official artist of the papal court.

He was commissioned to fresco the Stanza della Segnatura. Among them was the famous “ Athens school"is a multi-figure (about 50 characters) composition depicting ancient philosophers. In some faces one can discern the features of Raphael's contemporaries: Plato is painted in the image of da Vinci, Heraclitus is painted in the image of Michelangelo, Ptolemy is very similar to the author of the fresco.

Raphael's most famous student became famous for his pornographic drawings

Rafael Santi. Athens School. 1511
Scuola di Atene
Milling cutter, 500 × 770 cm
Apostolic Palace, Vatican. Wikimedia Commons

Raphael had many students, however, the most famous of them gained fame thanks to his pornographic drawings. Raphael could not tell his secrets to anyone. Later his paintings inspired Rubens, Rembrandt, Manet, Modigliani.

Raphael lived to be 37 years old. It is impossible to say exactly the cause of death. Under one version, due to fever. According to another, because of intemperance, which has become a way of life. On his tomb in the Pantheon there is an epitaph: “Here lies the great Raphael, during whose life nature was afraid of being defeated, and after his death she was afraid to die.”

One of the most frequently discussed and best-loved masterpieces of the Renaissance is Raphael's Sistine Madonna. For many people, it remains an example of high Western painting. Its popularity is almost as great as that of the Mona Lisa. All who have studied this painting have recognized the strange and confusing expressions on the faces of Mary and the baby Jesus, but all attempts to decipher their meanings have often failed.

A short history of a great masterpiece

Raphael's works are incredibly significant and interesting. When he painted his painting "The Sistine Madonna", he made a certain breakthrough in creativity and left it for posterity unique masterpiece. Initially, this picture was rejected by customers and doomed to many years of wandering. She saw the asceticism of the monastery walls and the luxury of the royal palaces. In the 16th century, this unique work was almost forgotten, in the 19th century it became one of the most popular creations of world art, and in the middle of the 20th century it almost died. All these vicissitudes befell the canvas that Raphael Santi painted - “The Sistine Madonna”.

A masterpiece that cannot leave you indifferent

The great Renaissance man was called the poet of the image of the Madonna. The motif of the mother and baby remained unchanged in many of Raphael’s works, but the “Sistine Madonna” makes the strongest impression on the viewer - the Madonna’s eyes look trusting and at the same time alarming.

With grandeur and simplicity, a woman brings to people the most precious thing - her son. Madonna easily and confidently walks on the clouds that swirl under her bare feet. A light breeze lifts the edge of her simple cloak. With all her appearance, Madonna resembles an ordinary peasant woman. She even holds her son the way peasant women usually hold their children. This is exactly how the author of the Sistine Madonna conveyed the image of the Virgin Mary.

Art historians' assumptions about Raphael's masterpiece

This simple woman is greeted as the Queen of Heaven. A kneeling old man in a formal papal robe looks admiringly at the Madonna - this is Saint Sixtus. It was to him that the Mother of God appeared along with her companion, who eases the torment of the dying.

Art historians pay close attention to Raphael’s work “The Sistine Madonna”: and its detailed study has occupied the minds of researchers for many decades, because this is a tombstone painting that the artist created for the death of his benefactor Pope Julius II. That is why the facial features of Julius are captured in the image of Saint Sixtus, and the one standing on the parapet is crowned with an acorn, the coat of arms of Julius the Second.

Order for a tombstone painting

Raphael's patron Santi was a wayward old man. He could beat the artist with his staff or order the destruction of frescoes that he did not like. At the same time, Julius spared no expense on decorating palaces and churches.

On his order, Raphael painted the halls of the new papal palace in Rome and created the majestic frescoes “Dispute”, “Parnassus” and others. In 1513, Julius II died, and Raphael, as one of his most beloved artists, was asked to paint a picture that was to be placed over the tomb of the Pope in the Roman Cathedral of San Pietro. Of course, Rafael Santi agreed to do this work. The Sistine Madonna became a funeral painting.

The two-hundred-year wanderings of the famous painting

It is assumed that the artist was working on his work in 1513, but the Pope's relatives changed their minds and installed a statue in the cathedral instead of the painting. It was the sculpture "Moses" by Michelangelo, Raphael's eternal rival. And the artist’s rejected masterpiece was taken from Rome. Thus began the wanderings of the “Sistine Madonna”.

For two centuries the painting was in provincial town Piacenza, in the Benedictine monastery.

This gave rise to the legend that the Sistine Madonna was commissioned by monks for a church altar. More than two centuries passed, and the painting was acquired by a passionate German collector painting Augustus the Third. He paid 20,000 sequins for it, a considerable sum at that time. The work was brought to Saxony, to the Dresden Palace Ensemble, but only a select few could see it. The pearl of the gallery, which was painted by Raphael Santi, “The Sistine Madonna,” was hidden from prying eyes in one of the deserted halls of the palace for the next 100 years.

Historical events that the famous masterpiece had to endure

Meanwhile, Europe was rocked by revolutions. In 1749, Germany began popular uprising. Fired up during street fighting in Dresden concert hall Zwinger, but fortunately the paintings were not damaged. After 6 years, the damaged part of the palace was restored.

In 1855, the Sistine Madonna, along with other masterpieces, was moved to another wing of the building. Dresden Gallery has become a place of pilgrimage for thousands of people from many countries of the world. On May 8, 1945, Dresden was attacked by one and a half thousand American bombers. Historical Center The city, which has a three-hundred-year history, was destroyed in an hour and a half. The Zwinger architectural ensemble was turned into ruins.

But two months later, not far from Dresden, Soviet soldiers discovered an abandoned quarry. There were canvases lying right on the damp stones Dutch masters, and only one painting was carefully packed in a box with special shock absorbers. Of course it was famous masterpiece, which was created by Raphael Santi - "Sistine Madonna".

Travel to Russia

In the summer of 1945, this painting, along with other paintings from German museums, was taken to Moscow. For nine years, the best restorers brought the damaged work of art back to life. And in 1954, the “Sistine Madonna” and other exhibits were exhibited for two months in Moskovsky, after which they were returned to the GDR.

Over the years of his life, Rafael Santi wrote many works. The paintings “The Sistine Madonna”, “The Three Graces”, “The Teaching of the Virgin Mary”, “The Triumph of Galatea” and many others evoke a feeling of admiration and awe.