The front of the sheet shows the composition as a whole, forming a circle. Several small studies surround it. They can be compared with other paintings, such as "The Madonna in the Chair" (Florence, Palazzo Pitti) and the "Small Cowper Madonna" (Washington, National Gallery). On the back, Raphael concentrated on the figure of the Virgin. But who is hiding behind this woman?
The grace of the pose, the modelling of the line and the tone of the sanguine - an iron-red clay chalk - used for drawing studies from the living model, conceal a paradox... The model for the Virgin was a young man!
In the case of the "Madonna of Alba", the sponsor was a member of the clergy, Paolo Giovio, who was close to the Roman milieu. To show the sponsor the composition he envisaged, Raphael made drawings. The sensibilities of the time and the rules of the church did not allow him to show a representation of a live female model, so he used a subterfuge as many painters of his time did, by drawing a male model and then making the drawing look female. The morphology of the character and her posture are reminiscent of the art of Michelangelo.
Inventory number: Pl 456 and Pl 457
Detail : Raphael carried out studies for other Madonnas on the same sheet of paper. The small child on the bottom right is a study for the "Bridgewater Madonna", kept in Edinburgh at the National Gallery of Scotland.
The front of the sheet shows the composition as a whole, forming a circle. Several small studies surround it. They can be compared with other paintings, such as "The Madonna in the Chair" (Florence, Palazzo Pitti) and the "Small Cowper Madonna" (Washington, National Gallery). On the back, Raphael concentrated on the figure of the Virgin. But who is hiding behind this woman?
The grace of the pose, the modelling of the line and the tone of the sanguine - an iron-red clay chalk - used for drawing studies from the living model, conceal a paradox... The model for the Virgin was a young man!
In the case of the "Madonna of Alba", the sponsor was a member of the clergy, Paolo Giovio, who was close to the Roman milieu. To show the sponsor the composition he envisaged, Raphael made drawings. The sensibilities of the time and the rules of the church did not allow him to show a representation of a live female model, so he used a subterfuge as many painters of his time did, by drawing a male model and then making the drawing look female. The morphology of the character and her posture are reminiscent of the art of Michelangelo.
Inventory number: Pl 456 and Pl 457
Detail : Raphael carried out studies for other Madonnas on the same sheet of paper. The small child on the bottom right is a study for the "Bridgewater Madonna", kept in Edinburgh at the National Gallery of Scotland.
