Who painted the Sistine Madonna. Sistine Madonna by Raphael Santi

Rafael Sanzio was born in 1483 in the province of Umbria and received provincial training in the workshop of Pietro Perugino.

At the age of seventeen, he proved to be one of the most promising young artists, but was still heavily influenced by Perugino's work. This can be seen in his early painting"Assumption and Coronation of the Virgin" and in "Crucifixion" now in National Gallery in London.

"Assumption and Coronation of the Virgin" (w)

« Moving with inspired conviction, Raphael's hand created lines that shaped his desire for eloquent forms..

Opening his "Portrait of Youth", a probable self-portrait made in 1500, when he may have received the title master's, we see the serene confidence and glowing potential of life pierced with simple black chalk on paper.

His ability to accurately convey vast fragments of subtle human emotions is constantly repeated in his drawings, and none of this is contained in a single detail. Often expressions are only lightly suggested with simple signs, but in the whole composition he is able to convey to the imaginary impressions of the subtle and complex aspects of human life.

« Raphael uses drawing as a means of observation, as a way of expressing and as a way of reflecting human emotions and actions..

In the "Our Lady of the Pomegranate" sketch, the mother gazes lovingly at the Christ child as it reaches the fetus, her expression radiating warm divine love but with grim acceptance of the challenges the child will face.

There is a complex truth common to the human experience in this image, mother's love followed by the agony of knowing the inevitable hardships that come with life, and the need for all children to move on from the safety of their mothers.

Creativity Raphael

Arriving in Florence, the young artist soon realized the limitations of his apprenticeship in Umbria. He faced the daunting task presented by the works of Leonardo and Michelangelo and set out to study his paintings and sculptures as well.

Raphael lacked the depth of Leonardo's knowledge and could not match the strength of Michelangelo, but he was an assertive artist, and virtues were found that made him a favorite, potential patrons began to appear.

His two great predecessors and rivals were at times difficult to manage and proved unpredictable in carrying out their assignments, and so the young artist was able to compete despite the reputation of the two great masters.

"Madonna of the Meadow"(w)

During this time, Raphael was also influenced by the painter Fra Bortolomeo from Tuscany and remained friendly, but Leonardo's influence was evident in the 1506 Madonna of the Meadow.

Raphael arrived in Rome in 1508 and Pope Julius II soon found work for the young painter. He was asked to decorate the Pope's private library in several rooms known as the Stanz. The paintings include The School of Athens, The Disputation of the Sacrament, and Parnassus, in which he refined his concepts of philosophy and theology while trying to find ways to portray compelling visual stories. They remain among the most famous images created by the artist.

"School of Athens" Signature, Vatican, Rome.(and)

In the "School of Athens" each philosopher is given a special character, which Raphael demonstrates.

Probably reflecting deeply on the ideas of the philosophers themselves, as well as on his expert portrayal, he seeks to depict inner balance through an outer gesture. Raphael was very familiar with the culture of oratory in Rome and the importance of facial expressions and hand gestures.

In one study of the figure of Christ from La Disputa, the weight of the cloth covering the lower part of Christ seems to be almost status and permanent, like marble, while the upper part of the body dissolves and is enveloped in an ethereal divine light reached through the space gap left by Raphael and the barely traceable white ink that draws out further luminosity.

The term used by Raphael and others during the Renaissance is Disegno, which means both design and art: the artist does not describe ideas, but develops the most perfect expression for them.

« The eloquence of Raphael's drawing is based on deep reflection and the intelligence of his hands »

Raphael shows us something about human nature and human potential: a reflection of life's natural complexities that elude words.

Pope Leo X prospered in his affairs after the death of Julius II, he was a member of the Medici family and continued to act as a patron to the artist who painted the Pope's portrait in 1518.

Pope Leo X. Oil on wood, 154 x 119 cm, Uffizi, Florence(s)

Triumph of Galatea1512 . (s)

Galatea was painted for the merchant and banker Agosto Chigi, who may have been the wealthiest man in Rome at the time the painting was commissioned. The work was placed in Chigi's villa on the banks of the Tiber (now called Villa Farnesina) and was intended to highlight Chigi's position as the chief patron of the arts.

In 1514 the artist was named the architect of Saint Peter and for some time was the most important architect in Rome. He designed several buildings, including Chigi's Chapel in the church of Santa Maria del Popolo, but his work on St. Peters was not successful, as Michelangelo's design was adopted.

Vision of Ezekiel 1518.
Oil on panel, Palazzo Pitti, Florence.

Sistine Madonna by Raphael

Sistine Madonna- one of the most famous works Raphael. The painting takes its name from the church of San Sisto in Piacenza and was painted by Raphael as an altarpiece for this church in 1513-1514. This painting was purchased in 1754 by King August III of Saxony for his collection in Dresden. In Germany, the painting was highly influential, sparking debates on issues of art and religion.

Sistine Madonna.
1513-1514. Oil on canvas. 104 x 77in (265x196cm) Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Dresden. (s)

The Madonna holds her child as she floats through swirling carpets of clouds, she is flanked by Saint Sixtus and Saint Barbara. At the foot of the picture are two angels (cherubs), who look into contemplation. There have been many speculations about sadness or even petrified expressions on the faces of the Virgin and baby Jesus. Why are they so mournful and afraid? Why is Saint Sixtus pointing at the painting in front of us viewers?

The answer becomes clear when we consider the original intended location of the work. Placed behind a choir screen that no longer survives, the Sistine Madonna would have faced a crucifix attached to the screen. So, the mystery is solved, the Virgin and baby Jesus look at the crucifixion. The frightened expressions are understandable, Jesus sees his own death and his mother witnesses the torture and death of her child. This is the place of the crucifixion, which St. Sixtus also indicates, and not to the viewer.

St Sixtus (detail)(s)

Saint Sixtus points to a painting at the site of the crucifixion. Notice how wonderfully painted the hands .

St. Barbara (detail)(s)

Rafael Santi's painting "The Sistine Madonna" was originally created by the great painter as an altarpiece for the church of San Sisto (St. Sixtus) in Piacenza. Painting size 270 x 201 cm, oil on canvas. The painting depicts the Virgin Mary with the Christ Child, Pope Sixtus II and Saint Barbara. The painting "Sistine Madonna" is one of the most famous works of world art. In Renaissance painting, this is perhaps the deepest and most beautiful embodiment of the theme of motherhood. For Rafael Santi, it was also a kind of result and synthesis of many years of searching in the topic closest to him. Raphael wisely used the possibilities of monumental altar composition, the view of which opens in the distant perspective of the church interior immediately, from the moment the visitor enters the temple. From afar, the motif of an opening curtain, behind which, like a vision, appears the Madonna walking through the clouds with a baby in her arms, should give the impression of a breathtaking force. The gestures of Saints Sixtus and Barbara, the upward gaze of the angels, the general rhythm of the figures - everything serves to draw the viewer's attention to the Madonna herself.

Compared with the images of other Renaissance painters and with the previous works of Raphael, the painting "Sistine Madonna" reveals an important new quality - an increased spiritual contact with the viewer. In his previous Madonnas, the images were distinguished by a kind of internal isolation - their gaze was never turned to anything outside the picture; they were either preoccupied with the child or immersed in themselves. Only in Raphael's painting "Madonna in the Chair" do the characters look at the viewer, and in their eyes there is a deep seriousness, but to a more certain extent their experiences are not revealed by the artist. In the gaze of the Sistine Madonna, there is something that seems to allow us to look into her soul. It would be an exaggeration to speak here about the increased psychological expression of the image, about the emotional effect, but in the slightly raised eyebrows of the Madonna, in the wide open eyes- and her gaze itself is not fixed and difficult to catch, as if she is looking not at us, but past or through us - there is a shade of anxiety and that expression that appears in a person when his fate is suddenly revealed to him. It is like a providence for the tragic fate of her son and at the same time a willingness to sacrifice him. The dramatic nature of the image of the mother is set off in its unity with the image of the infant Christ, whom the artist endowed with unchildish seriousness and insight. It is important, however, to note that with such a deep expression of feeling, the image of the Madonna is devoid of a hint of exaggeration and exaltation - it retains its harmonic underpinnings, but, unlike the previous Raphael creations, it is more enriched with shades of innermost spiritual movements. And, as always with Raphael, the emotional content of his images is extraordinarily vividly embodied in the very plasticity of his figures. The painting "Sistine Madonna" gives good example inherent in Raphael's images of a kind of "polysemy" of the most simple movements and gestures. Thus, the Madonna herself appears to us at the same time walking forward and standing still; her figure seems to be easily floating in the clouds and at the same time possessing real weight human body. In the movement of her hands carrying the baby, one can guess the instinctive impulse of the mother, hugging the child to her, and at the same time, the feeling that her son does not belong only to her, that she is carrying him as a sacrifice to people. The high figurative content of such motifs distinguishes Raphael from many of his contemporaries and artists of other eras who considered themselves his followers, who often had nothing but an external effect behind the ideal appearance of their characters.

The composition of the "Sistine Madonna" at first glance is simple. In fact, this is apparent simplicity, because general construction The painting is based on an unusually subtle and at the same time strictly adjusted ratios of volumetric, linear and spatial motifs that give the picture grandeur and beauty. Her impeccable balance, devoid of artificiality and schematism, does not in the least hinder the freedom and naturalness of the movements of the figures. The figure of Sixtus, dressed in a wide mantle, for example, is heavier than the figure of Barbara and is somewhat lower than her, but the curtain over Varvara is heavier than over Sixtus, and thus the necessary balance of masses and silhouettes is restored. Such a seemingly insignificant motif as the papal tiara, placed in the corner of the picture on the parapet, is of great figurative and compositional significance, introducing into the picture that part of the feeling of the earthly firmament, which is required to give the heavenly vision the necessary reality. The contour of the figure of the Madonna, powerfully and freely delineating her silhouette, full of beauty and movement, speaks enough about the expressiveness of the melodious lines of Rafael Santi.

How was the image of the Madonna created? Was there for him real prototype? In this regard, a number of ancient legends are associated with the Dresden painting. Researchers find in the facial features of the Madonna a resemblance to the model of one of portraits of women Raphael - the so-called "Ladies in the Veil" ("La Donna Velata", 1516, Pitti Gallery). But in addressing this issue, first of all, it is necessary to take into account famous saying Raphael himself from a letter to his friend Baldassara Castiglione that in creating the image of a perfect female beauty he is guided by a certain idea, which arises on the basis of many impressions from the beauties seen by the artist in his life. In other words, at the core creative method the painter Rafael Santi turns out to be a selection and synthesis of observations of reality.

The painting, lost in one of the temples of the provincial Piacenza, remained little known until the middle of the 18th century, when the Saxon Elector Augustus III, after two years of negotiations, received permission from Benedict XIV to take it to Dresden. Prior to this, August's agents had tried to negotiate the purchase of more famous works Raphael, who were in Rome itself. A copy of the Sistine Madonna, made by Giuseppe Nogari, remains in the temple of San Sisto. A few decades later, after the publication of rave reviews by Goethe and Winckelmann, the new acquisition eclipsed Correggio's "Holy Night" as the main masterpiece of the Dresden collection.

Since Russian travelers started the grand tour from Dresden, the "Sistine Madonna" became their first meeting with the peaks Italian art and therefore received Russia XIX century deafening fame, surpassing all other Madonnas of Raphael. Almost all artistically oriented Russian travelers in Europe wrote about her - N.M. Karamzin, V.A. Zhukovsky ("celestial passing maiden"), V. Küchelbecker ("divine creation"), A.A. Bestuzhev ("this is not the Madonna, this is the faith of Raphael"), K. Bryullov, V. Belinsky ("the figure is strictly classical and not at all romantic"), A.I. Herzen, A. Fet, L.N. Tolstoy, I. Goncharov, I. Repin, F.M. Dostoevsky. A.S., who did not see it with his own eyes, mentions this work several times. Pushkin.

After the Great Patriotic War the painting was kept in storage Pushkin Museum until it was returned, along with the entire Dresden collection, to the authorities of the GDR in 1955. Before that, "Madonna" was presented to the Moscow public. At the farewell to the "Sistine Madonna" by V.S. Grossman responded with a story of the same name, where he connected the famous image with his own memories of Treblinka: "Looking after the Sistine Madonna, we retain the faith that life and freedom are one, that there is nothing higher than human in man" 1 .

The enthusiasm that has become routine, caused by the picture among travelers, led to a certain reaction against this work, as well as against the work of Raphael as a whole, which from the second half of XIX century has become associated with academism. Leo Tolstoy already wrote: "The Sistine Madonna ... does not evoke any feeling, but only painful anxiety about whether I am experiencing the feeling that is required" 2 .

Even in reference publications, it is noted that the colors of the Madonna have noticeably faded; neither placing the picture under glass nor museum lighting contribute to enhancing the effect produced by it. When the famous image was exhibited in Moscow, Faina Ranevskaya reacted to the disappointment of some intellectuals in the following way: "This lady has been liked by so many for so many centuries that now she herself has the right to choose who she likes" 3 .

The reception of this image in popular culture, which sometimes crosses the line of vulgarity. At the 2012 Dresden exhibition celebrating the 500th anniversary of the masterpiece, many consumer goods were displayed with reproductions of Raphael putti: “winged children puff out their cheeks from the pages of 19th-century girlish albums, turn into two cute pigs in an advertisement for an 1890s Chicago sausage manufacturer. a wine label with them, here's an umbrella, here's a candy box, and here's toilet paper," wrote Kommersant 4 about this exhibition.

Do you remember these lines of A. S. Pushkin:

What a thoughtful genius in them,
And how much childlike simplicity
And how many languid expressions
And how much bliss and dreams!..
Let them down with a smile Lelya -
In them modest graces triumph;
Raise - Raphael's angel
This is how the deity contemplates.

It is impossible to say better about Raphael. Whatever we say, we will only endlessly rehash, rearrange words and comment on the immortal lines of the great Russian poet.

The evolution of the images of the Blessed Virgin Mary

"Sistine Madonna" - perhaps the most tragic image Virgin of those created by Raphael. The face of the Most Pure Mother expresses not only the strongest love for the Son, but also - what is most important in this image - the resolute and at the same time humble acceptance of the will of God the Father, who gave her the Baby, so that she, having raised Him, would give to the slaughter.

There are two images of the Virgin that Raphael created - the "Sistine Madonna" and the "Madonna Sedia" (or "Madonna in the Chair"), where she does not look at the Baby. Compare these two works. According to the results latest research, "Madonna in the Chair" was written in 1515-1516, and "Sistine Madonna" - in 1517. Prior to the writing of these paintings, Raphael's Madonnas were alienated from people. The Mother of God enjoyed communication with her child, admired him, did not live him. "Madonna Sedia" is the first call, a premonition of tragedy. The Virgin hugs the Divine child to herself not gently, but with some kind of fury, as if she wants to protect her from something. Raphael made him so fat, overfed, - all the mother's love is invested in this Baby. She stares intently at each of us, a silent question frozen in her eyes: “Will you take Him away from me? Will you harm Him?" The presence of John the Baptist in the picture is an important emotional component of the plot. Many researchers believe that the "Madonna Sedia" is a growing anxiety, internal tension - too strong a hug, too strong protection of the Baby. From the extraordinary, flourishing femininity of the former images, through the presentiment in the painting "Madonna Sedia" - to what will later explode into tragedy in the "Sistine Madonna".

The most tragic image of the Mother of God

How does Raphael see the Mother, resigned to the will of God the Father and accepting the sacrificial essence of her Son? The "Sistine Madonna" is by no means accidentally depicted in full height. She goes out to people, like on a stage. Holds a large and heavy baby easily. She already knew that she had to give Him up, that He was not entirely hers. In all her appearance - determination. She does not look at each of us separately, like the Madonna Sedia. She looks directly and, as it were, through us, as if not attaching importance to any person, no matter how significant she may be in the world of people. We are all for her - a humanity that needs forgiveness. We do not require a sacrifice. The Lord Himself brings her for our salvation, and She accepts her fate and forgives all of us, so weak and helpless. Her tender and youthful face radiates extraordinary strength and wisdom, which is impossible for ordinary people. The Mother of God comes out from behind the curtains and moves through the clouds. Is the world in Raphael's vision a theater, a stage, an illusion? real, real life in the sky?..

We are not given to comprehend the secrets of the creations of the geniuses of the Renaissance

It must be said that all the artists of the Renaissance were artists of vast and profound knowledge. This is usually not focused on much attention, but to leave the legacy left by Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci or Montaigne, you had to know a lot. Such an artist was, of course, Rafael Santi. "Sistine Madonna" is a lot of mysteries, metaphors, each component of the picture has certain meaning. Nothing is accidental for him. The images created by Raphael and other Renaissance artists are great historical-artistic, historical-spiritual and philosophical researches. They make you think, ask yourself questions: “What is depicted? Why did he draw this? Why did he portray it this way and not otherwise?” In this sense, the era is certainly unique. It feels like the sky itself descended on humanity, giving it so many unique gifted people, geniuses, and the painting "Sistine Madonna" was written, of course, by a genius. Genius mysterious and not deciphered.

Symbolism and graphics

In the works of Raphael there are no unimportant or minor details. He has everything thought out to the smallest detail. Of course, first of all, we look at Mary as a woman and Mother, we perceive with our feelings Her attitude towards the Baby, Her love for Him, Her concern for Him. But what if you try to look at these images not emotionally, but from the point of view of the graphics of the paintings, how they are arranged compositionally? For example, Madonna Sedia.

Mentally draw a spiral arc around the face of the Mother, then, along the outer orbit, draw a line along the sleeve of the Virgin and along the arm of the Child, capturing two faces already, then again, along the outer orbit, then along the leg of the Infant, capturing John the Baptist, again into the outer orbit , and drag an arc along Madonna's dress to where it ends. The result was a spiral of three and a half turns. This is how the composition of this picture was organized. At first it was organized, and only then comprehended as an image.

What is a three and a half turn spiral? And then and now it is a well-known universal, cosmic sign. The same spiral is repeated on the shell of snails. Is it a coincidence? Of course not. This has been known since the construction of medieval Gothic cathedrals. The art of inscribing figures into the symbols of compositions, of course, was masterfully mastered by Raphael.

The “Sistine Madonna” is drawn in such a way that the Latin R is clearly discerned in the silhouette of Mary. Looking at the picture, we visually move along a closed oval describing the Virgin. Such a circular motion was undoubtedly planned by the artist.

Rafael is joking?

What other secrets does the Sistine Madonna keep? The description of Pope Sixtus IV, placed on the left side of the picture, is always accompanied by a request to count the number of fingers on his right hand. There are 6 of them, right? In fact, what we perceive as the little finger is part of the palm. Thus, there are still 5 fingers. What is it? An artist's oversight, a joke, or an allusion to something that Christian theologians have blotted out of their history? Raphael glorifies, bows before the Mother of God and laughs at Pope Saint Sixtus IV. Or maybe he is joking with Julius II, Sixtus' nephew? Julius ordered this work for him and posed for the picture himself. It is assumed that the "Sistine Madonna" was written on the canvas as a banner for a tombstone for the future grave of Pope Julius II, and the angels at the bottom of the picture lean on the coffin lid. The story of the movement and sale of the painting by the Catholic hierarchs, which they a priori (by law) had no right to do, is also rather ambiguous and full of slyness, however, as are the legends about the reason for writing the masterpiece.

What comes first - spirit or matter?

Renaissance artists had few failures, few misses. The fact is that before doing anything, they first structured their works. And Raphael is the first designer of all his things. We perceive Raphael as an artist only emotional, ideally harmonious, perfect in the form of expressing an idea, but in fact he is a very constructive artist. At the basis of all his paintings, at the basis of all his compositions, both picturesque and monumental, lies an absolutely architectural and constructive basis. He is the perfect set designer for all his creations.

Raphael's humanism

Raphael is the great humanist of the Renaissance. Look at any of his work - smooth lines, tondos, arches. These are all symbols that create a sense of harmony, reconciliation, unity of the soul, God, man and nature. Raphael was never unloved, never forgotten. He worked a lot for the Catholic Church - he painted high-ranking Christian officials and saints. Creating images of the Madonna occupies a very large layer of his life. Perhaps this is due to the early death of his own mother. His father, an artist and poet, taught him a lot, but he also passed away when Rafael was only 11 years old. Raphael's easy and benevolent character can be explained precisely by a difficult life. He knew warmth parental home and was orphaned at an age when mother and father remain in the memory forever as very bright images. Then I studied and worked a lot. At the age of 18, he became a student of the brilliant and wise Pietro Perugino, who had a huge impact on the formation of Raphael's personality.

The beauty created by Raphael will save the world

The train of Raphael's cloak is huge. You can talk about this endlessly. In the end, I want to say only one thing - there is a very widespread maxim of F. M. Dostoevsky: "Beauty will save the world." Who just does not repeat this phrase, where they just do not write it. Today it is absolutely empty, because no one understands what kind of beauty, what it is all about. But for Fyodor Mikhailovich, this was a maxim, and this maxim was undoubtedly associated with Raphael's work The Sistine Madonna. She was his favorite painting, and for the writer's birthday, his wife and Panaeva ordered a fragment of this image in Dresden. The photo still hangs in the house-museum of Dostoevsky. Of course, for the writer-philosopher, the painting "Sistine Madonna" was the very image of beauty that can save the world, because it was in the "Sistine Madonna" that there was a unique combination of incomparable feminine charm, meekness, purity, sensual charm, perfect holiness and sacrifice, which in the 19th century, perhaps, were understood in the duality human consciousness, in the fragmentation of the world, much more than at the end of the 16th century. An amazing thing is a combination of extraordinary sensitivity, tenderness, such infinite spirituality, absolute purity and perfection of forms and such classical scenographic rationalism. This is where the absolutely inimitable and amazing features of the always beloved and unforgettable Rafael Santi are located.

Raphael, "Sistine Madonna." Dresden Gallery. 1512-1513

The predominant nature of the genius of Raphael was expressed in the desire for a deity, for the transformation of the earthly, human into the eternal, divine. It seems that the curtain has just parted and a heavenly vision has opened up to the eyes of believers - the Virgin Mary walking on a cloud with baby Jesus in her arms.

The Madonna is holding trustingly clinging to her Jesus in a motherly way, carefully and carefully. The genius of Raphael seemed to have enclosed the divine baby in a magic circle formed by the left hand of the Madonna, her falling veil and the right hand of Jesus.

Her gaze, directed through the viewer, is full of disturbing foresight. tragic fate son. The Madonna's face is the embodiment of the ancient ideal of beauty combined with the spirituality of the Christian ideal. Pope Sixtus II, who accepted martyrdom in 258 AD and numbered among the saints, asks Mary for intercession for all who pray to her in front of the altar.

The pose of Saint Barbara, her face and downcast eyes express humility and reverence. In the depths of the picture, in the background, barely distinguishable in a golden haze, the faces of angels are vaguely guessed, enhancing the overall sublime atmosphere.

This is one of the first works in which the viewer is invisibly included in the composition: it seems that the Madonna descends from heaven directly towards the viewer and looks into his eyes.

The image of Mary harmoniously combines the delight of religious triumph (the artist returns to the hieratic composition of the Byzantine Hodegetria) with such universal human experiences as deep maternal tenderness and individual notes of anxiety for the fate of the baby. Her clothes are emphatically simple, she steps on the clouds with bare feet, surrounded by light.

The figures are devoid of traditional halos, however there is a shade of supernaturalness in the ease with which Mary, clutching her Son to herself, walks, barely touching the surface of the cloud with her bare feet ... Raphael combined the features of the highest religious ideality with the highest humanity, imagining the queen of heaven with a sad son in her arms - proud, inaccessible , mournful - descending towards people.

The looks and gestures of two angels on foreground addressed to the Madonna. The presence of these winged boys, more reminiscent of mythological cupids, gives the canvas a special warmth and humanity.

The "Sistine Madonna" was commissioned by Raphael in 1512 as an altarpiece for the chapel of the monastery of Saint Sixtus in Piacenza. Pope Julius II, at that time still a cardinal, raised funds for the construction of a chapel where the relics of St. Sixtus and St. Barbara were kept.

The painting, lost in one of the temples of the provincial Piacenza, remained little known until the middle of the 18th century, when the Saxon Elector Augustus the Third, after two years of negotiations, received permission from Benedict to take it to Dresden. Prior to this, agents of Augustus tried to negotiate the purchase of the more famous works of Raphael, which were located in Rome itself.

In Russia, especially in the first half of the 19th century, Raphael's "Sistine Madonna" was very revered, enthusiastic lines of such different writers and critics like V. A. Zhukovsky, V. G. Belinsky, N. P. Ogarev.

Belinsky wrote from Dresden to V.P. Botkin, sharing with him his impressions of the “Sistine Madonna”: “What nobility, what grace of the brush! You can't look! I involuntarily remembered Pushkin: the same nobility, the same grace of expression, with the same severity of outline! No wonder Pushkin loved Raphael so much: he is kindred to him by nature.

Two great Russian writers, L. N. Tolstoy and F. M. Dostoevsky, had reproductions of the Sistine Madonna in their offices. The wife of F. M. Dostoevsky wrote in her diary: “Fyodor Mikhailovich put the works of Raphael above all else in painting and recognized the Sistine Madonna as his highest work.”

Carlo Maratti expressed his surprise at Raphael in this way: “If they showed me a picture of Raphael and I would not know anything about him, if they told me that this was the creation of an angel, I would believe it.”

The great mind of Goethe not only appreciated Raphael, but also found an apt expression for his assessment: "He always created what others only dreamed of creating." This is true, because Raphael embodied in his works not only the desire for an ideal, but the very ideal available to a mortal.

There are a lot of interesting features in this painting. Note, it seems that dad is depicted in the picture with six fingers, but it is said that the sixth finger is the inside of the palm.

The two angels below are one of my favorite reproductions. You can often see them on postcards and posters. The first angel has only one wing.

This painting was taken the Soviet army and 10 years was in Moscow, and then was transferred to Germany. If you look closely at the background on which the Madonna is depicted, you will see that it consists of the faces and heads of angels.

It is believed that the model for the Madonna was the beloved Rafael Fanfarin.

This girl was destined to become the first and only love of the great Raphael. He was spoiled by women, but his heart belonged to Fornarina.
Raphael was probably misled by the angelic expression of the pretty face of the baker's daughter. How many times, blinded by love, he portrayed this charming head! Starting in 1514, he painted not only her portraits, these masterpieces of masterpieces, but also created thanks to her images of Madonnas and saints who would be worshiped! But Raphael himself said that this was a collective image.

IMPRESSIONS FROM THE PICTURE

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 vividly you are convinced that something unnatural is happening in front of you ...
And this is not a deception of the imagination: it is not seduced here either by the liveliness of the colors or the outward 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 insides.

Karl Bryullov admired: “The more you look, the more you feel the incomprehensibility of these beauties: every feature is thought out, full of expression of grace, combined with the strictest style.”

A. Ivanov copied her and was tormented by the consciousness of his inability to catch her main charm.
Kramskoy admitted in a letter to his wife that only in the original he noticed a lot of things that are not noticeable in any of the copies. He was especially interested in the universal meaning of the creation of Raphael:
"It's something really almost impossible...

Whether Mary really was the way she is depicted here, no one has ever known and, of course, does not know, with the exception of her contemporaries, who, however, do not tell us anything good about her. But such, at least, they created it religious feelings and beliefs of mankind...

Raphael's Madonna is truly a great and truly eternal work, even when mankind ceases to believe, when scientific research ... reveals the truly historical features of both of these faces ... and then the picture will not lose its value, but only its role will change.

Plot

This is a monumental work. Almost two by two meters. Just think what impression this picture made on people XVI century. It seemed that the Madonna was descending from heaven. Her eyes are not half closed, do not look away or at the baby. She is looking 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 a 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 torment.

Martyrdom of Saint Sixtus II, XIV century

Pope Sixtus II did not stay long on the throne - from 257 to 258. He was beheaded under the emperor Valerian. Saint Sixtus was the patron of the Italian papal family Rovere, whose name translates as "oak", so acorns and leaves of this tree are embroidered on the golden mantle. The same symbol is present on the papal tiara, whose three crowns symbolize the kingdom of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Raphael was the first to paint the Madonna, who looks the viewer in the eyes

Saint Barbara is not accidentally chosen for this canvas. She was the patroness of Piacenza - for the church it was in this city that Raphael painted his Madonna. The story of this woman is extremely tragic. She lived in the III century, her father was a pagan, and the girl converted to Christianity. Naturally, the father was against it - he tortured his daughter for a long time, and then completely beheaded.

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

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 praise God. The angels below, with their impassive look, speak of the inevitability of divine providence. This is a symbol of acceptance.

Context

Raphael received an 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) in the Papal States. The territory was reclaimed from the French in the course of the struggle for northern Italian lands. In Piacenza there was a monastery of St. Sixtus, the patron saint of the Rovere family, to which the pontiff belonged. The monks actively campaigned for joining Rome, for which Julius II decided to thank them and ordered from Raphael an altarpiece on which the Mother of God appears to Saint Sixtus.

The Sistine Madonna was commissioned by Pope Julius II

We do not know who exactly posed for Raphael for Madonna. According to one version, it was Fornarina - not only a model, but also the artist's lover. History has not even preserved her real name, not to mention the details of her life. Fornarina (literally, a baker) is a nickname she owed to her father's job as a baker.

"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 3000 gold and took her to him. For the next 12 years - until the death of the artist - Fornarina was his muse and model. What happened to the woman after the death of Raphael is unknown. According to one version, she became a courtesan in Rome, according to another, she took her hair as a nun and died soon after.

But back to the Sistine Madonna. I must say that fame came to her much later after writing. For two centuries it was gathering dust in Piacenza, until Augustus III, Elector of Saxony and King of Poland, bought it in the middle of the 18th century and took it to Dresden. Despite the fact that at that time the painting was not considered a masterpiece of Raphael, the monks bargained for two years and broke the price. It was not important for Augustus to buy this painting or another, the main thing - the brushes of Raphael. It was his paintings that were missing in the Elector's collection.

August III

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 porters hesitated, carrying the masterpiece through the halls of his palace.

Raphael's mistress may have posed for the "Sistine Madonna"

Another half century passed, and the "Sistine Madonna" became a hit. Its copies appeared first in palaces, then in bourgeois mansions, and then in the form of prints and in the homes of ordinary people.

The canvas miraculously survived during the Second World War. Dresden itself was destroyed to the ground. But the "Sistine Madonna", like other paintings of the Dresden Gallery, was hidden in a freight car that stood on rails in an abandoned quarry 30 km south of the city. In May 1945 Soviet troops found paintings and brought 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. Rafael carefully studied their technique, it was the right tool for the execution of artistic ideas.

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

self-portrait

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 Julius II, who ascended the papal throne, contributed a lot to this. He was an extremely ambitious and enterprising man. He drew 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 Senyatura. Among them was the famous "School of Athens" - a multi-figure (about 50 characters) composition, which represents ancient philosophers. In some faces, the features of Raphael's contemporaries are guessed: Plato is written in the image of da Vinci, Heraclitus is Michelangelo, Ptolemy is very similar to the author of the fresco.

The most famous student of Raphael became famous for pornographic drawings

And now a minute for the rubric "few people know." Rafael was also an architect. After the death of Bramante, he completed the construction of St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. In addition, he built a church, a chapel, several palazzos in Rome.

Athenian school

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

Rafael lived for 37 years. It is impossible to pinpoint the exact cause of death. Under one version, due to fever. According to another, because of intemperance, which has become a lifestyle. On his tomb in the Pantheon there is an epitaph: "Here lies the great Raphael, during whose life nature was afraid to be defeated, and after his death she was afraid to die."