WHY BUY IT

• Magnificent, true-to-life colours
• Adds elegance to any room
• Perfect as a prestigious gift

FEATURES

Print on handmade Amalfi paper
Sheet size: 29 x 42 cm (11.4 x 16.5 in)
Material: artwork printed on very fine handmade Amalfi paper with deckled edges

Print on handmade Amalfi paper with frame
Sheet size: 29 x 42 cm (11.4 x 16.5 in)
With frame: 31 x 44 cm (12.2 x 17.3 in)
Material: artwork printed on very fine handmade Amalfi paper with deckled edges, handmade beech wood frame

Print on painter's canvas
Size: 80 x 60 cm (31.5 x 23.6 in)
Material: artwork printed on very fine-grain painter's canvas
Frame: light brown beech wood and wood pulp, handmade

The artwork

Raphael's "Madonna of the Pinks" is a masterpiece that conveys deep serenity and intimate devotion. The scene is set in a shadowy room, where Mary and the Infant Jesus share a moment of tender recollection. Mary, in her grey gown with puffed sleeves and the blue mantle covering only her legs, holds the little Jesus on her lap; naked, he curiously looks at the pinkish-red carnations in his hands, which his mother has just given him. The carnations, a symbol of the Passion, that is, of the blood Jesus will shed on the cross, also represent the mystical marriage between Christ and the Church, embodied by Mary.

The composition is enriched by symbolic details such as the canopy bed, alluding to Mary's virginity, and the window revealing a country landscape with ancient ruins, a symbol of the transience of the earthly world compared with the purity and eternity of the divine.

The work, painted between 1506 and 1507, when Raphael was 23-24, reflects the mastery of his youth, already celebrated for his ability to harmonise the human figure with its surroundings. The figures of the Virgin and Child emerge powerfully from the shadow, creating a contrast that accentuates both their sacredness and their humanity. The small rectangle of landscape visible through the window adds further depth, inviting the viewer to look beyond the domestic scene.

The intimacy of the depiction and Raphael's technical perfection made this Madonna an iconographic model, widely copied and reproduced over time. Its influence lasted for centuries, bearing witness to the ideal of beauty and grace that Raphael's art embodied.

The "Madonna of the Pinks" is not only a work of private devotion but a symbol of the eternal bond between the divine and the human, portrayed with a beauty that has captivated generations of artists and believers. The panel, with its modest dimensions (27.9 high and 22.4 wide) and its glazed oil colours, expresses perfect balance, a testament to the "ideal beauty" that Raphael could capture like few others.