Raphael 1483 – 1520

Madonna del Prato

oil on panel (113 × 88 cm) — 1506 Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

Raphael biography

A sitting Mary watches her son Jesus and John the Baptist play with a cross. The group is set in a lovely landscape.

This madonna depiction by Raphael is known as the Madonna del Prato (Madonna in the meadow), but also as the Madonna in the green. It was commissioned by the Florentine humanist Taddeo Taddei.

Similar to Raphael's round Madonna (1510), the center of the action is to the left of the panel's center. The composition is balanced by Mary's foot, which creates a triangular group.

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