Raphael’s “The Small Cowper Madonna”

Raphael’s “The Small Cowper Madonna”

Date; 1505

Material; Oil on panel

National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.

In Raphael’s “The Small Cowper Madonna,” Mary is wearing a red dress with a seam running down the bodice; the seam is worn and has been mended. She is sitting on a wooden bench outside, on top of a blue cloak that is wrap around her legs. Her face is framed with two braids on either side, and in her hair she is wearing a blue ribbon. Mary is holding Jesus with her left hand, his right arm wrapped behind her head, probably touching Mary’s hair. His left hand is resting by her neck. Jesus’s left foot is standing on Mary’s right hand, which is resting on her lap, his right foot is partially standing on her lap. He looks like he is trying to climb. Both Mary and Jesus have blond hair and fair skin and their expressions are tranquil.

Behind the seated figures is a stone wall that comes to the middle of Mary’s upper arm. Beyond the wall is the landscape. To the left, behind Mary, the lawn stretches and there is a path that breaks into two parts. Part of the path is leading straight toward a lake; walking on that path are two figures. One is on horseback, the other figure is standing next to the horse. The lake is surrounded by trees and bushes. Beyond the lake, in the distance, are hills with trees leading to the sky. To the right, behind Jesus, there is a top of a tree. Looking over the tree, the path from Mary’s side continues up a hill to a church. The church is the Church of San Bernardino, near Urbino where Raphael grew up, (Stokstad, page 666.) On the path leading to the church are more figures. In the distance, there are more hills leading to the skyline.

Raphael, whose full name was Raffaello Santi, was born around 1483 in Urbino. His father Giovanni Santi was a painter at the Montefeltro court. Raphael was not only a painter, but he also was an architect and print designer. One of his famous paintings is the School of Athens, part of the decoration he did for Pope Julius II library. Raphael

designed tapestry cartoons for the Sistine Chapel to hang on the lowest stage of the walls and he suppled designs for Marcantonio Raimondi to engrave, he also allowed Raimondi to reproduce some of his designs. In 1514, after Donato Bramante’s death Pope Leo X promoted Raphael as architect of Saint Peter’s, (Oxford Art Online.)

I picked Raphael’s “The Small Cowper Madonna,” because I like the way he painted Mary and Jesus. They look more realistic and like mother and child than in most earlier Madonna and Child paintings. I also like the colors that Raphael used, not only for Mary and Jesus, but also for the landscape.

Sources:

Nicholas Penny. "Raphael." Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. 6 Apr. 2010 <http://0-www.oxfordartonline.com.lrc.cod.edu/subscriber/article/grove/art/T070770>.

National Gallery of Art <http://www.nga.gov/cgi-bin/pinfo?Object=1199+0+none>

Stokstad, Mary. Art History. 3rd ed. New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc, 2008