1505, Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino), The Ansidei Madonna -- National Gallery (London)
From the museum label: Raphael painted this altarpiece for the chapel of the Ansidei family in the church of San Fiorenzo in Perugia. Responding to the challenge of its restricted setting, Raphael was inspired to produce one of the most imposing and resolved altarpieces of his early career. The Virgin is flanked by Nicholas of Bari and John the Baptist, name saints of the patron and his son. The Baptist gazes up at his slender crystal cross and points towards Christ, foreseeing his Passion. The altarpiece's division into harmonious thirds is the result of careful geometrical planning. Surprisingly, however, the lofty vaulted architecture was an afterthought, added when the painting was well advanced. The brilliance of Raphael's solution was to create the illusion of a chapel-like space where none may have existed.
Link to other Raphael paintings
1505, Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino), The Ansidei Madonna -- National Gallery (London)
From the museum label: Raphael painted this altarpiece for the chapel of the Ansidei family in the church of San Fiorenzo in Perugia. Responding to the challenge of its restricted setting, Raphael was inspired to produce one of the most imposing and resolved altarpieces of his early career. The Virgin is flanked by Nicholas of Bari and John the Baptist, name saints of the patron and his son. The Baptist gazes up at his slender crystal cross and points towards Christ, foreseeing his Passion. The altarpiece's division into harmonious thirds is the result of careful geometrical planning. Surprisingly, however, the lofty vaulted architecture was an afterthought, added when the painting was well advanced. The brilliance of Raphael's solution was to create the illusion of a chapel-like space where none may have existed.
Link to other Raphael paintings