Audio Stop 214

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A woman and two children, all with pale skin and flushed cheeks, sit together in a landscape in this round painting. The woman takes up most of the composition as she sits with her right leg, to our left, tucked under her body. Her other leg, on our right, is bent so the foot rests on the ground, and that knee angles up and out to the side. She wears a rose-pink dress under a topaz-blue robe, and a finger between the pages of a closed book holds her place. Her brown hair is twisted away from her face. She has delicate features and her pink lips are closed. She looks and leans to our left around a nude young boy who half-sits and half-stands against her bent leg. The boy has blond hair and pudgy, toddler-like cheeks and body. The boy reaches his right hand, on our left, to grasp the tall, thin cross held by the second young boy, who sits on the ground next to the pair. This second boy has darker brown hair and wears a garment resembling animal fur. The boy kneels facing the woman and looks up at her and the blond boy. The trio sits on a flat, grassy area in front of a body of water painted light turquoise. Mountains in the deep distance are pale azure blue beneath a nearly clear blue sky.

Raphael

The Alba Madonna, c. 1510

West Building, Main Floor — Gallery 20

Curator of Italian and Spanish paintings Gretchen Hirschauer examines the humble depiction of biblical figures in this monumental Raphael painting.

Read full audio transcript

NARRATOR:
In a tender, peaceful scene painted around 1510 by Raphael, we see major figures in Christianity, with Mary sitting with her baby, Jesus, in her lap. Nearby is Jesus’ cousin St John the Baptist, identified by his animal skin clothing.

GRETCHEN HIRSCHAUER:
They have this very serious, intent look on their faces - they seem to know what will happen in the future. The Christ child accepts the reed cross that's offered to him by St. John the Baptist, which is an indication that he accepts his future crucifixion on the cross.

I'm Gretchen Hirschauer. I am a curator in the Department of Italian and Spanish Paintings.

NARRATOR:
The painting’s circular format was inspired by the decorative round gift trays presented to wealthy Florentine women after giving birth. Within this format, Raphael skillfully leads our eye around the scene.

GRETCHEN HIRSCHAUER:
The painting is all about angles. Let’s say you start down at her sandal and then your eye goes up to her elbow on the trunk of the tree. And then your eye is taken to her head, and then down again, she's gazing directly at John the Baptist, who is gazing directly at the Christ child. He has found a way to connect these figures, not only physically but emotionally. They are all connected to one another within this very particular format.

To me, one of the more interesting points is that she's seen as the Madonna of Humility, and that people don’t realize that there are certain types of Madonnas; they're not all the same… She's not here the queen of heaven, but she's a humble woman sitting on the ground.

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