Madonna del Granduca

Raphael Santi, the great Renaissance master died on this day in 1520. On this occasion we present one of his most famous Madonnas - Madonna del Granduca.

Madonna del Granduca was painted probably in 1505, shortly after Raphael had arrived in Florence. The painting got its name from Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany, who owned it. 

The influence of Leonardo da Vinci, whose works he got to know there, can be seen in the use of sfumato. Its simple composition is a prototype for the future Madonnas of Raphael's last Florentine period. The figures of the Virgin and Child emerge from a dark background (an element evidently derived from Leonardo), bound together by a sweet sentiment which derives largely from the gesture of the Child.

Unfortunately the painting is in part changed by the drastic nineteenth century restoration which included the repainting of the background and of the dress.

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- Zuzanna