MADONNA AND HER BABE 



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MADONNA AND HER BABE 



the earth's surface. The glory was originally set 

 in a sort of nimbus, surrounding the entire figure 

 instead of merely the head ; it was generally oval 

 in shape. Representative paintings of this class 

 are Raphael's Sistine Madonna, in the Dresden 

 Gallery; Fra Angelico's Madonna della Stella in 

 the monastery of San Marco, Florence ; Correg- 

 gio's Madonna of Saint Sebastian, in the Dresden 

 Gallery ; Moretto's Madonna of San Giorgio Mag- 

 giore, at Verona ; Bouguereau's Madonna of the 

 Angels. 



(4) The Pastoral Madonna has a landscape 

 background, of which Raphael again heads the 

 list with his Belle Jardiniere (The Beautiful Gar- 

 dener) of the Louvre Gallery, The Madonna of the 

 Meadow in the Belvedere Gallery, Vienna, and the 

 Madonna of the Goldfinch, of the Uffizi, Florence. 

 Among other famous paintings of this division 

 are Leonardo da Vinci's Madonna of the Rocks in 

 the National Gallery, London ; Palma Vecchio's 

 Santa Conversazione, at the Dresden Gallery, and 

 Filippino Lippi's Madonna in a Rose Garden, in 

 the IMtti Palace, at Florence. 



(5) Madonna in a Home Environment, which 

 forms but a small group. The Northern painters, 

 home loving in their tastes, idealized the type, 

 and we find in this list Quinten Massys' Madonna, 

 presenting a Flemish bedroom of the fifteenth 

 century ; Schongauer's Holy Family, in the Bel- 

 vedere Gallery, at Vienna, and Rembrandt's In a 

 Carpenter's Home in the Munich Gallery. 



Legend credits Saint Luke with having painted 

 the first Madonna. But it was not until after 

 the Council of Ephesus, in A. D. 431, that paint- 

 ings of the Virgin and her Babe became the 

 recognized symbols of the orthodox faith, and 

 Madonnas began to increase in great numbers. 

 The oldest representations of the Virgin that 

 survive are those found in the catacombs ac- 

 companying the tombs of the early Christians. 

 Byzantine models were followed up to the thir- 

 teenth century, when, with the dawn of the 

 Italian Renaissance, the old-style portrait Ma- 

 donna passed out of vogue. More elaborate 

 backgrounds were introduced with the growing 

 resources of technique. This was the time of 

 Cimabue of Florence, the father of modern 

 painting. He was the first to put natural life 

 into the angular designs of the Byzantine art- 

 ists, and with him began that wonderfully pro- 

 ductive period of Italian art, with Madonna 

 subjects as the chief source of inspiration, cul- 

 minating in Raphael's great Sistine Madonna. 

 Raphael is the world's greatest painter of Ma- 

 donnas. His masterpiece, the Sistine Madonna, 

 painted in 1518, now hangs in the Dresden Gal- 

 lery. Its theme is the transfiguration of loving 

 and consecrated motherhood, and represents 

 the Virgin supported on clouds and carrying 

 the infant Jesus in her arms. On one side Pope 

 Sixtus II kneels in supplication. At the other 

 side Saint Catharine kneels, and below, the two 



famous cherubs of Raphael are leaning. It was 

 painted as an altar piece for the Church of San 

 Sisto at Piacenza, and was finished just before 

 the master's death. This Madonna is perfect 

 in poise and character. 



It is said that Raphael first painted his 

 Madonna of the Chair upon a barrel and then 

 copied it on canvas. It was painted in 1516 

 and now hangs in the Pitti Palace, Florence. 

 The Virgin is seated in a chair, clasping Jesus 

 in her arms, while Saint John is depicted in 

 adoration at the left. His Madonna diAnsidai', 

 painted in 1506, the finest in England, is in the 

 National Gallery, London. It is sometimes 

 called the Blenheim Madonna, because it was 

 purchased there in 1844 for $350,000. In the Belle 

 Jardiniere (Pretty Gardener), in the Louvre, the 

 Virgin is seated in a meadow among flowers. 

 She is looking at the Infant, who stands at one 

 knee; at the other, Saint John kneels, holding 

 a cross. Others of Raphael's fifty Madonna 

 paintings are The Madonna of the Goldfinch 

 of the Uffizi, Florence; The Madonna in the 

 Meadow, in the Belvedere Gallery, Vienna; 

 and the Colonna Madonna, the gift of Mr. 

 Morgan to the Metropolitan Museum, New 

 York City. 



Leonardo da Vinci was doubtless Raphael's 

 greatest inspiration, but the former is always 

 mysterious and subtle, the latter frank and 

 clear. Of Da Vinci's famous Madonnas, only 

 two remain. His Madonna of the Rocks, in the 

 National Gallery, London, takes its name from 

 the appearance in the background of a grotto, 

 with high rocks. The Virgin is presenting the 

 infant John to Jesus, who, supported by an an- 

 gel, is blessing him. 



Correggio Madonna paintings are large com- 

 positions crowded with figures expressing great 

 gladness and gayety. The fame of these rests 

 not so much on their inner significance as upon 

 their splendid technique; they are unsurpassed 

 for masterly handling of color. Among his fa- 

 mous paintings are Madonna of Saint Sebastian 

 in the Dresden Gallery; La Zingarella at Na- 

 ples; Madonna della Cesta in the National 

 Gallery, London; &nd the Madonna della Scala. 

 The latter picture was originally painted in 

 fresco over the eastern gate of Parma. Later 

 the wall which it decorated was incorporated 

 into a small, new church. To accommodate the 

 high level of the Madonna, the building was 

 somewhat elevated, and being entered by a 

 flight of steps, was known as S. Maria della 

 Scala (of the staircase). This name attached 

 itself to the painting even after the church was 



