« Sistine Madonna" - the most famous of Raphael Santi's paintings, which does not have creative analogues. The history of the creation of the masterpiece is controversial among historians and art critics. About the hypotheses and theories of the creation of the “Sistine Madonna”, the history of the existence of the “Sistine Madonna” and modern life Read the pictures in our article.

The truth about the creation of Raphael's masterpiece, The Sistine Madonna, has been lost in history. Even at the level of few documents there is different versions which can neither be confirmed nor refuted. This does not make it possible to put an end to the dispute among historians about who commissioned the painting. An opponent for the Church of St. Sixtus in honor of the victory over the French was the German art critic Hubert Grimme. He put forward the theory that the painting was intended for the funeral ceremony of the solemn farewell to Pope JuliusII, who died of fever on February 21, 1513 and became the first pope to have his body embalmed. The pope's body was laid out for farewell in the right side chapel (part of the temple to accommodate an additional altar for worship) of St. Peter's Cathedral. The painting was placed over the coffin of Pope Julius. Grimme insists that it was the location of the painting that determined its composition: Raphael depicted how, from the depths of a niche framed by a green curtain, the Mother of God approaches the tomb of the pontiff. According to Grimme, the angels at the bottom of the picture are leaning on the wooden lid of the coffin of Pope Julius. And the papal tiara with the heraldic symbol of della Rovere - the acorn - indicates that the deceased belonged to this ancient family. But Catholic ritual prohibits the use of images that were used in mourning ceremonies on the main altar for religious purposes. The Vatican had unprecedented power. And everything happened in the usual way: with tacit consent Curia (the main administrative body of the Holy See and the Vatican) “Sistine Madonna” was sold to the Benedictine monastery in distant Piacenza. Having thus avoided unwanted attention to this violation, the painting was placed on the high altar of the Church of St. Sixtus.

"Sistine Madonna" in the interior of the Church of St. Sixtus

Raphael's masterpiece, lost in the provinces, remained unknown until 1754, when the Elector of Saxony (the prince with the right to choose the king) AugustusIIItook the painting to Dresden. In the Church of St. Sixtus there remains a copy of the “Sistine Madonna” made by the artist Giuseppe Nogari.

"Sistine Madonna", one of the most famous paintings in the world, received recognition only in the middleXVIIIcentury, when it was acquired by the ruler of Saxony, AugustusIII. AugustIIIinherited a passion for collecting paintings from his father AugustusIIStrong, who was known as a connoisseur of art and was the first to collect works of old masters. Like his father, AugustIIII never denied myself the pleasure, sparing no expense, to purchase any masterpiece in Venice, Bologna or Prague. He allowed himself these expensive purchases using proceeds from the treasury of the huge Polish-Lithuanian state, whose elective throne was Augustus.IIIoccupied. Only masterpieces were purchased, in the selection of which AugustIIIrelied on the advice of Francesco Algarotti, the greatest authority in the field of artXVIIIcentury, which selected a collection of paintings of exceptional quality for the Saxon electors. But in Rome the agents of Augustus attemptedIII the purchase of Raphael's works was unsuccessful. Through the mediation of the Bolognese artist Giovannini AugustusIIIFor two years he conducted difficult negotiations on the purchase of the Sistine Madonna. The situation was often paused: the stumbling block was the cost of the painting. It took a year of negotiations to set a price of 25 thousand Roman scudi. This sum was enormous (almost 70 kg of gold), and it was 25 times more than what the Elector of Saxony usually paid for a work of art. Another year was spent waiting for permission from Pope BenedictIVfor sale by the monastery of a beautiful altar image. The Sistine Madonna was the pinnacle of Augustus's successful acquisitionsIIIthat period. The painting was so valued that they deviated from the usual practice (in those days they usually traveled from Italy to Saxony through Venice and Vienna) and sent the “Sistine Madonna” through Tyrol and Outsburg, avoiding customs quibbles in Venice.

A new chapter has begun in the history of the film. On March 1, 1754, the Sistine Madonna was exhibited for the first time in the audience hall of the castle, the residence of the Elector in Dresden. The painting, almost forgotten in Piacenza, again gained fame, albeit among a small select audience. As early as 1846, construction of a building for the museum began in Dresden, which was completed in 1855. The Sistine Madonna and other masterpiece paintings were transported to the Dresden Gallery, which has now become publicly accessible. Foreign visitors were allowed to view the gallery for a large fee. The composition of the gallery reflected the tastes of the European aristocracy of the Enlightenment. Raphael was considered the indisputable authority at that time, and his best easel work- "Sistine Madonna". IN new gallery Raphael's painting received its own separate room, a new frame and global recognition, more than 300 years after its creation. In his article published in 1755, the art historian Winckelmann called the “Sistine Madonna” the best and most precious of the entire gallery collection.

War, the dark shadow of civilization, almost deprived the world of Raphael’s masterpiece. At the end of 1939, the “Sistine Madonna” was sent by the Nazis from Dresden to the fortress of the city of Meissen Albrechtsburg, which did not save it from the horror of devastating bombings. Therefore, the canvas was transported again, and its location was classified. On the night of February 13-14, 1945, American bombers carried out an unjustifiably brutal raid on Dresden, which was not military necessary because the Dresden garrison was small. Within 90 minutes, not only high-explosive bombs were dropped on the city, but also bombs filled with phosphorus and rubber, which burned everything to the ground. As a result of the bombing, about 30,000 civilians were killed, more than 85% of buildings lay in ruins, and countless historical and cultural monuments were mercilessly destroyed, including the Albertinum - famous Museum ancient art Germany, one of the largest sculpture museums in Europe. And in the place of Dresden art gallery only the charred skeletons of the walls stood tall. But by the time of the bombing artistic treasures it was no longer there. Immediately after the liberation of the city by Soviet troops, the search for exhibits from Dresden museums began. Found in the adit of an abandoned quarry beyond the Elbe German plan placement of treasures from Dresden museums. There were a lot of caches - 53 (later it turned out that the vast majority of them were mined). The “repositories” of the masterpieces of the Dresden Gallery turned out to be a tunnel in Gross Cotta and a lime quarry in Pokuu - Lengefeld.

The war years became tragic for cultural life Dresden. Most of the exhibits recovered from the caches needed immediate help; many of them were on the verge of destruction; more than 300 paintings were damaged by the bombing. But the devastation of post-war Germany did not even allow the creation of proper conditions for storing paintings, not to mention their restoration. Raphael's canvas and the masterpieces found were sent for restoration to Kyiv and Moscow. For technological reasons, the restoration process turned out to be lengthy. Only 10 years later, the “Sistine Madonna” and another 1240 paintings returned to the collection of the Dresden Gallery. The Sistine Madonna was restored several times: in 1826, 1856 and 1931. Now the Dresden Museum, fearing for the safety of the masterpiece, is in no hurry to restore it.

In September 2011, to the Dresden Gallery for an exhibition dedicated to the visit of Pope BenedictXVIto Germany, they brought the prototype of the famous “Sistine Madonna” - “Madonna di Foligno”, which for the first time in history left the Vatican Pinacoteca for this exhibition. Interesting fact: now no one would doubt the superiority of the “Sistine Madonna”, but inXVIIIcentury "Madonna di Foligno" was valued higher. After all, it was her, and not the “Sistine Madonna” AugustIIIwanted to buy it for my Dresden collection, but various reasons couldn't do it.

"Sistine Madonna" on display at the Dresden Gallery

The muted palette of the “Sistine Madonna” is inferior in intensity to the colors of the “Madonna di Foligno”, the colors of which were cleaned by Italian restorers. But since the artist used the same paints to create both paintings, one can only imagine how beautiful the Sistine Madonna once was.

Gold coin issued by the Vatican. The theme of the issue is “The Sistine Madonna” by Raphael

Italy immortalized Raphael's masterpiece. Next gold coin with a denomination of €100, the Stanzas of Raphael series was released into circulation by the Vatican City State in September 2013. The theme of this issue was “The Sistine Madonna” by Raphael.

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 the happy hours of my life: everything around me was quiet; first, with some effort, he entered into himself; then he clearly began to feel that the soul was spreading; some kind of touching feeling greatness was included in it; the indescribable was depicted for her, and she was where only life can be in the best moments. The genius of 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 monumental work. Almost two by two meters. Just think what an impression this picture made on the people of the 16th 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 who were canonized by the church 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 joining Rome, for which Julius II I decided to thank them and ordered from Raphael an altar image 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 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.

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 storage rooms Pushkin Museum 10 years until it was returned along with the entire Dresden collection to the GDR authorities 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 great Raphael, during whose life nature was afraid of being defeated, and after his death she was afraid to die.”

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, (dis)agreeing with them, we more clearly realize our own attitude towards the picture, the plot, the artist and 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 of the 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. 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 many adults, 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 has a presentiment of 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 his 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, architect of the Renaissance. 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.

This altar image is the last of major works Raphael, dedicated to his favorite theme. Also in early period creativity, he turned to the image of the Madonna and Child, each time looking for new approach. The predominant character of Raphael's genius was expressed in the desire for divinity, for the transformation of the earthly, human into the eternal, divine.

It seems that the curtain has just parted and a heavenly vision has been revealed to the eyes of believers - the Virgin Mary walking on a cloud with the baby Jesus in her arms. The Madonna holds Jesus, who has leaned trustingly close to her, with maternal care and concern. Raphael's genius seemed to enclose the divine baby in a magic circle formed by the Madonna's left hand, her flowing veil and right hand Jesus. Her gaze, directed through the viewer, is full of alarming 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 was martyred in 258 AD. and canonized, asks Mary for intercession for all who pray to her before the altar. The pose of Saint Barbara, her face and downcast gaze express humility and reverence. In the depths of the picture, in the background, barely visible in the golden haze, the faces of angels are vaguely visible, enhancing the overall sublime atmosphere. The views and gestures of the two angels in the foreground are directed towards 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 from 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, collected funds for the construction of a chapel where the relics of St. Sixtus and St. Barbara were kept.

In Russia, especially in the first half of the 19th century, Raphael’s “Sistine Madonna” was greatly revered; enthusiastic lines of such different writers and critics such as 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 stop looking at it! I involuntarily remembered Pushkin: the same nobility, the same grace of expression, with the same severity of outline! It’s not for nothing that Pushkin loved Raphael so much: he is related 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 valued Raphael’s works above all else in painting and recognized the Sistine Madonna as his highest work.”.

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

The painting “The Sistine Madonna” was painted by Raphael in 1512-1513, commissioned by Pope Julius II for the altar of the church of the monastery of St. Sixtus in Piacenza, where the relics of St. Sixtus and St. Barbara were kept.

The painting shows Pope Sixtus II, who was martyred in 258 AD. and canonized, asks Mary for intercession for all who pray to her before the altar. The pose of Saint Barbara, her face and downcast gaze express humility and reverence.

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.

In the 19th and 20th centuries, Russian writers and artists traveled to Dresden to see the Sistine Madonna. They saw in her not only a perfect work of art, but also the highest measure of human nobility.

The artist Karl Bryullov wrote: “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.”

Leo Tolstoy and Fyodor Dostoevsky had a reproduction of the Sistine Madonna in their offices. The wife of F. M. Dostoevsky wrote in her diary: “Fyodor Mikhailovich ranked the works of Raphael above all in painting and recognized the Sistine Madonna as his highest work.”
This picture serves as a kind of litmus test in assessing the character of Dostoevsky's heroes. So in spiritual development Arkady (“Teenager”) leaves a deep impression on the engraving he saw depicting the Madonna. Svidrigailov (“Crime and Punishment”) recalls the face of the Madonna, whom he calls the “mournful holy fool,” and this statement allows us to see the depth of his moral decline.

Perhaps not everyone likes this picture. But, as they say, over many centuries so many great people have liked it that now it chooses who it likes.

The Dresden Gallery banned photography and filming two years ago. But I still managed to capture the moment of contact with the masterpiece.

Since childhood, I have admired the reproduction of this painting, and always dreamed of seeing it with my own eyes. And when my dream came true, I was convinced: no reproduction can compare with the effect that happens in the soul when you stand near this canvas!

The artist 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. “Raphael’s Madonna is truly a great work and truly eternal, even when humanity stops believing, when scientific research... really reveals historical features both of these persons ... and then the painting will not lose its value, but only its role will change.”

"Once human soul there was such a revelation, it cannot happen twice,” wrote an admiring Vasily Zhukovsky.

As ancient legends tell, Pope Julius II had a vision of the Mother of God and Child. Through the efforts of Raphael, it turned into the appearance of the Virgin Mary to people.

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 amazing master and the incomparable poet of the image of the Madonna. The St. Petersburg Hermitage houses the “Madonna Conestabile”, which was created by a seventeen-year-old artist!

Raphael borrowed the idea and composition of the Sistine Madonna from Leonardo, but this is also a generalization of his own life experience, images and reflections on Madonnas, the place of religion in people's lives.
“He always created what others only dreamed of creating,” he wrote about Raphael Goethe.

When I looked at this picture, not yet knowing the history of its creation, the woman with a child in her arms was not the Mother of God for me, but a simple woman, like everyone else, giving her child to the cruel world.

It is striking that Maria looks like a simple woman, and that she is holding the baby, as peasant women usually hold them. Her face is mournful, she can barely hold back her tears, as if anticipating the bitter fate of her son.
In the background of the picture, if you look closely, the outlines of angels can be seen in the clouds. These are souls who are waiting for their turn to incarnate in order to bring the light of love to people.
At the bottom of the picture, two guardian angels with bored faces watch the ascension of a new soul. Judging by the expressions on their faces, it seems that they already know in advance what will happen to Mary’s baby, and are patiently waiting for the destined to happen.

Can the new baby save the world?
And what can a soul embodied in a human body manage to do during the short period of its stay on this sinful earth?

The main question is: is this work a painting? or is it an icon?

Raphael sought to transform the human into the divine, and the earthly into the eternal.
Raphael wrote The Sistine Madonna at a time when he himself was experiencing severe grief. And therefore he put all his sadness into the divine face of his Madonna. He created the most beautiful image Mother of God, combining in him the traits of humanity with the highest religious ideality.

By a strange coincidence, immediately after visiting the Dresden Gallery, I read an article about the history of the creation of the Sistine Madonna. The content of the article shocked me! The image of a woman with a baby captured by Raphael has forever gone down in the history of painting as something tender, virgin and pure. However, in real life the woman depicted as the Madonna was far from an angel. Moreover, she was considered one of the most depraved women of her era.

There are several versions of this legendary love. Some talk about the sublime and pure relationship between the artist and his muse, others about the base, vicious passion of a celebrity and a girl from the bottom.

Raphael Santi first met his future muse in 1514, when he was working in Rome on an order from the noble banker Agostino Chiga. The banker invited Raphael to paint main gallery his Farnesino palace. Soon the gallery walls were decorated famous frescoes"The Three Graces" and "Galatea". The next one was supposed to be the image of "Cupid and Psyche". However, Rafael could not find suitable model for the image of Psyche.

One day, while walking along the banks of the Tiber, Raphael saw a lovely girl who managed to win his heart. At the time of meeting Rafael, Margarita Luti was only seventeen years old. The girl was the daughter of a baker, for which the master nicknamed her Fornarina (from Italian word"bread baker")
Rafael decided to offer the girl to work as a model and invited her to his studio. Rafael was 31 years old, he was a very interesting man. And the girl could not resist. She surrendered herself to the great master. Perhaps not only because of love, but also for selfish reasons.
In gratitude for the visit, the artist gave Margarita a gold necklace.

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 accessible to a mortal.

9 secrets hidden in the “Sistine Madonna” by the brilliant Raphael.

“The genius of pure beauty,” said Vasily Zhukovsky about “The Sistine Madonna.”

The painting, already quite famous at that time, was painted by Raphael Santi at the request of Pope Julius II. The artist began painting his masterpiece at approximately the age of 30. It's no secret that the Sistine Madonna contains many symbols. For example, scientists recently noticed that Raphael encoded the first letter of his name in the main characters of the picture.

It is also known that the painter was a Gnostic and they are known to revere the number 6. All 9 symbols in the painting form a hexagon. By the way, the name of Saint Sixtus is also translated as “six”. And that's not all the sixes...

Editorial "AWESOME" invites you to dive into the symbolism in more detail genius creation Rafael Santi.

1. There is an opinion that the image Holy Virgin Raphael wrote... from his mistress Margherita Luti.

2. It is not known for certain who became the prototype of the son of the Lord, but if you look closely, you will notice that the baby has an adult look beyond his years.

3. Saint Sixtus, depicted in the painting, was the patron saint of the papal family of Rovere (which means “oak” in Italian). That is why acorns and oak leaves are embroidered on his robe.

4. Sixtus points with his right hand to the altar crucifix. It is interesting to know that the “Sistine Madonna” hung behind the altar and, accordingly, behind the altar cross). Some researchers believe that the pontiff in the painting depicts six fingers (they say, six again!), However, this opinion is very controversial. As a sign of devotion to the Virgin Mary, the high priest presses left hand to the chest.

5. Sixtus's tiara consists of three crowns, symbolizing the kingdom of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

6. Also depicted on Raphael’s canvas is Saint Barbara. She was the patroness of Piacenza. Varvara, secretly from her pagan father, converted to Christianity, for which her parent beheaded her.

7. Art historians believe that the artist depicted the clouds in the form of singing angels. True, if you believe the Gnostics, then these are not angels at all, but not yet born souls who reside in heaven and praise the Lord.

8. At the bottom of the picture, two angels with an indifferent look catch the eye. But in fact, this dispassion in the eyes is a symbol of humility before the will of God. Christ is destined for the cross, and he is no longer able to change anything.

9. The open green curtain is a symbol of the mercy of the Father, who sent his only son to save all sinners.

10. By the way, Pushkin himself borrowed the idea from the great Raphael. True, the center of his work is quite earthly woman Anna Kern.

Who is the most popular Renaissance artist today?

Of course, Leonardo da Vinci, - you will answer, and you will be absolutely right. However, this was not always the case. For a long time he was considered Rafael Santi from Urbino.

All the Art Academies of Europe and the whole world, after accepting classicism in art as the main ideology for many centuries, took the works of Raphael as a model. All masters of painting up to mid-19th centuries were confident that Raphael’s work is the crown of perfection in art, the peak of the genius of a human creator, which, in principle, cannot be surpassed. And if this is so, then one must follow the path of the master and, as far as one’s own talent allows, adopt his manner.

For German romantics Raphael's work contained the divine will and the pillars of the universe. And only with the help of the divine will was the author able to look at the fundamental principles of existence and capture them in his brilliant creations.

The best creation of Raphael - "Sistine Madonna", now stored in Dresden Gallery, in Germany. This is the essence of all the ideals and dreams of the Renaissance. It is the absolute perfection of finished shapes, contours and colors. There is no mysterious tension and intrigue hidden in the haze "sfumato" Leonardo da Vinci, "Sistine Madonna"– this is endless beautiful divine simplicity.

The spelling of "Sistine Madonna" refers to 1512, When Pope Julius II, known for his love of painting, ordered to the young master image of the Blessed Virgin for the high altar of the Church of St. Sixtus in Piacenza. This was an amazing success for the author - he was not yet 30, but success and recognition were already accompanying him everywhere.

Unlike all subsequent works, "Sistine Madonna" the work of Raphael himself, which was not touched by any of his students. What makes this painting special is the fact that the technique of painting on canvas is used here, while most works of Raphael’s era are executed on wood. Moreover, not a single sketch for this painting has survived, which seems to confirm the version of Raphael’s divine illumination.

Sictinian Madonna

… The azure blue skies shine from the open curtain. The beautiful Virgin walks lightly on the clouds, as if on snow, approaching us. In her arms is the baby Christ, his face is engulfed in pain and horror, but Mary is thoughtful and sad. A sad future opens before their eyes - pictures death penalty God's Son to atone for all the sins of mankind. This interpretation of the picture is by no means metaphorical. For many centuries, being on altar of the Church of St. Sixtus, Mary and the baby looked at the altar crucifix. The canvas also contains Saint Sixtus (possibly Pope Julius II himself is depicted in this image) and Saint Barbara who stretch out their hands to the Most Pure Virgin and the Child. Two carefree angels on the lower tier of the canvas, as if they contradict general mood the paintings, however, are woven into the plot so masterfully that they are still popular among artists and designers all over the world. The Sistine Madonna was in the church in Piacenza until 1754, the Elector of Saxony bought it for the museum in Dresden, where it remains to this day.