Madonna of Foligno (Raphael)
Encyclopedia
The Madonna of Foligno is a painting
by the Italian
High Renaissance
painter Raphael
. First painted on wood, it was later transferred to canvas.
in 1565 and remained there for more than two centuries, hence the name.
In 1799 it was carried to Paris, France by Napoleon. There, in 1802, the painting was transferred from panel to canvas by Hacquin and restored by Roser of Heidelberg. The process to transfer a painting from wood panel to canvas was so rare that special note was made by the restorer: "Rapporto dei cittadini Guijon Vincent Tannay e Berthollet sul ristauro dei quadri di Raffaello conosciuto sotto il nome di Madonna di Foligno."
In 1815, after the Battle of Waterloo
, it was returned to Italy, where it was placed in the room with the Transfiguration
in the Pinacoteca Vaticana of the Vatican Museum in the Vatican City
.
, in 1511. It was placed on a high altar of the church of Santa Maria in Aracoeli
on Capitoline Hill
(Italian
: Campidoglio) in Rome
, where Sigismondo was buried in 1512.
The painting is a sacra conversazione, where holy figures seem to be in conversation and draw the audience into their discussion. Rather than sitting under a canopy, of the Umbrian or Florentine style, the Virgin is seated on clouds, embracing Jesus, while surrounded by angels. They look down upon Sigismonde de' Conti, kneeling in a red, fur lined cape. Conti is presented by St. Jerome on the right with his lion, appealing for the Virgin's protection. On the left are the kneeling St. Francis of Assisi and St. John the Baptist, who is standing and wearing a tunic of skins. As St. John points to Jesus, he clearly looks out to us, pulling us in, while St. Francis points to us and looks at the Christ Child. Between the men is an angel, linking the saints of earth to the seraph host of heaven. Behind them are the towers of Foligno.
Painted during Raphael's Roman period, it is a testament to his artist maturity, evidenced in the paintings composition, coloring and form.
Conti commissioned the painting to commemorate his survival of a shell that exploded near him during the Siege of Foligno, his home town. He credited his safety to heavenly intervention.
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
by the Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
High Renaissance
High Renaissance
The expression High Renaissance, in art history, is a periodizing convention used to denote the apogee of the visual arts in the Italian Renaissance...
painter Raphael
Raphael
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino , better known simply as Raphael, was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form and ease of composition and for its visual achievement of the Neoplatonic ideal of human grandeur...
. First painted on wood, it was later transferred to canvas.
History
It was moved by Anna Conti, a descendent of Sigismondi Conti, to the monastery of St. Anne in FolignoFoligno
Foligno is an ancient town of Italy in the province of Perugia in east central Umbria, on the Topino river where it leaves the Apennines and enters the wide plain of the Clitunno river system...
in 1565 and remained there for more than two centuries, hence the name.
In 1799 it was carried to Paris, France by Napoleon. There, in 1802, the painting was transferred from panel to canvas by Hacquin and restored by Roser of Heidelberg. The process to transfer a painting from wood panel to canvas was so rare that special note was made by the restorer: "Rapporto dei cittadini Guijon Vincent Tannay e Berthollet sul ristauro dei quadri di Raffaello conosciuto sotto il nome di Madonna di Foligno."
In 1815, after the Battle of Waterloo
Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815 near Waterloo in present-day Belgium, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands...
, it was returned to Italy, where it was placed in the room with the Transfiguration
Transfiguration (Raphael)
The Transfiguration is considered the last painting by the Italian High Renaissance master Raphael. It was left unfinished by Raphael, and is believed to have been completed by his pupil, Giulio Romano, shortly after Raphael's death in 1520...
in the Pinacoteca Vaticana of the Vatican Museum in the Vatican City
Vatican City
Vatican City , or Vatican City State, in Italian officially Stato della Città del Vaticano , which translates literally as State of the City of the Vatican, is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome, Italy. It has an area of...
.
Description
The painting was executed for Sigismondo de' Conti, chamberlain to Pope Julius IIPope Julius II
Pope Julius II , nicknamed "The Fearsome Pope" and "The Warrior Pope" , born Giuliano della Rovere, was Pope from 1503 to 1513...
, in 1511. It was placed on a high altar of the church of Santa Maria in Aracoeli
Santa Maria in Aracoeli
The Basilica of St. Mary of the Altar of Heaven is a titular basilica in Rome, located on the highest summit of the Campidoglio. It is still the designated Church of the city council of Rome, which uses the ancient title of Senatus Populusque Romanus...
on Capitoline Hill
Capitoline Hill
The Capitoline Hill , between the Forum and the Campus Martius, is one of the seven hills of Rome. It was the citadel of the earliest Romans. By the 16th century, Capitolinus had become Capitolino in Italian, with the alternative Campidoglio stemming from Capitolium. The English word capitol...
(Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
: Campidoglio) in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, where Sigismondo was buried in 1512.
The painting is a sacra conversazione, where holy figures seem to be in conversation and draw the audience into their discussion. Rather than sitting under a canopy, of the Umbrian or Florentine style, the Virgin is seated on clouds, embracing Jesus, while surrounded by angels. They look down upon Sigismonde de' Conti, kneeling in a red, fur lined cape. Conti is presented by St. Jerome on the right with his lion, appealing for the Virgin's protection. On the left are the kneeling St. Francis of Assisi and St. John the Baptist, who is standing and wearing a tunic of skins. As St. John points to Jesus, he clearly looks out to us, pulling us in, while St. Francis points to us and looks at the Christ Child. Between the men is an angel, linking the saints of earth to the seraph host of heaven. Behind them are the towers of Foligno.
Painted during Raphael's Roman period, it is a testament to his artist maturity, evidenced in the paintings composition, coloring and form.
Conti commissioned the painting to commemorate his survival of a shell that exploded near him during the Siege of Foligno, his home town. He credited his safety to heavenly intervention.