Madonna of Loreto. The Madonna of Loreto is a painting finished around 1511 by the Italian High Renaissance painter Raphael.
It is housed in the Musée Condé of Chantilly, France. For centuries the painting kept company with Raphael's Portrait of Pope Julius II, first at the Santa Maria del Popolo, then in private collections, and for a time their location was unknown.
Their ownership, or provenance, has been difficult to unravel because of the number of copies of both paintings, the unclear ownership chain, misinformation and delay of publication of vital information. For instance, this painting received its name from a copy at the Basilica della Santa Casa in Loreto which was at one time thought to be the original.
Now is it certain that the painting at Loreto was a copy-and therefore the painting name is a misnomer. Even so, the well-copied painting has been a beloved and critically acclaimed painting for centuries.
The painting is tender and intimate. The Child, just awakened, plays a game with the Madonna's veil, with a melancholy Saint Joseph looking on from the shadows. The use of veil in Renaissance paintings, from the Meditations on the Life of Christ, symbolizes the manner in which the Madonna wrapped the Child in the veil from her head at the Nativity and, prophetically, again at the Crucifixion. Saint Joseph's melancholy nature in this picture may signal his proclivity for prophecy and
It is housed in the Musée Condé of Chantilly, France. For centuries the painting kept company with Raphael's Portrait of Pope Julius II, first at the Santa Maria del Popolo, then in private collections, and for a time their location was unknown.
Their ownership, or provenance, has been difficult to unravel because of the number of copies of both paintings, the unclear ownership chain, misinformation and delay of publication of vital information. For instance, this painting received its name from a copy at the Basilica della Santa Casa in Loreto which was at one time thought to be the original.
Now is it certain that the painting at Loreto was a copy-and therefore the painting name is a misnomer. Even so, the well-copied painting has been a beloved and critically acclaimed painting for centuries.
The painting is tender and intimate. The Child, just awakened, plays a game with the Madonna's veil, with a melancholy Saint Joseph looking on from the shadows. The use of veil in Renaissance paintings, from the Meditations on the Life of Christ, symbolizes the manner in which the Madonna wrapped the Child in the veil from her head at the Nativity and, prophetically, again at the Crucifixion. Saint Joseph's melancholy nature in this picture may signal his proclivity for prophecy and
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