Rafael Santi, "Sistine Madonna": description of the painting and photo

One of the most frequently discussed and mostfavorite masterpieces of the Renaissance is the painting "Sistine Madonna" by Raphael. For many people, it remains an example of high Western painting. Her popularity is almost as great as that of the "Mona Lisa". All who studied this canvas recognized the strange and confusing expressions of Mary and the baby Jesus, but all attempts to decipher their meaning were often unsuccessful.

A small story of a great masterpiece

Raphael's works are extraordinarily significant andare interesting. When he wrote his canvas "Sistine Madonna", he made a breakthrough in the work and left for descendants a unique masterpiece. Initially, this picture was rejected by customers and is doomed to long-term wanderings. She saw the asceticism of the monastery walls and the luxury of the royal palaces. In the XVI century, this unique work was almost forgotten, in the XIX it became one of the most popular works of world art, and in the middle of the XX century it nearly died. All these vicissitudes fell on the canvas, which was written by Raphael Santi, - "Sistine Madonna".

A masterpiece that can not remain indifferent

The great Italian painter of the Renaissancecalled the poet the image of the Madonna. The motif of the mother and the baby remained unchanged in many of Raphael's works, but the "Sistine Madonna" produces the most powerful impression on the viewer - Madonna's eyes look trustingly and at the same time unsettlingly.

With greatness and simplicity a woman bears people the mostexpensive - his son. Madonna easily and confidently treads on the clouds that swirl under her bare feet. A light breeze throws the edge of her simple cloak. All her appearance Madonna resembles an ordinary peasant woman. She even keeps her son the way peasant women usually keep their children. This is how the author of the "Sistine Madonna" transmitted the image of the Virgin Mary.

Assumptions of art about the masterpiece of Raphael

This simple woman is met as the Queen of Heaven. Madonna looks admiringly kneeling old man in the parade papal robe - it's Holy Sixtus. It was to him that the Mother of God appeared with her companion Saint Barbara, who facilitates the torments of the dying.

Art critics pay close attention to the workRaphael "Sistine Madonna": the description of the painting and its detailed study occupy the minds of researchers for many decades, because this tombstone, which the artist created for the death of his benefactor Pope Julius II. That's why the features of Julia's face are imprinted in the image of St. Sixtus, and the papal tiara, standing on the parapet, is crowned with an acorn, the arms of Julius II.

Order for a tombstone

The patron of Raphael Santi was capriciousthe old man. He could beat the artist with his staff or give the order for the destruction of the frescoes, which he did not like. At the same time, Julius did not spare any money to decorate palaces and churches.

By his order Rafael was engaged in painting hallsnew papal palace in Rome and created majestic frescoes "Athenian school", "Disputes", "Parnassus" and others. In 1513, Julius II died, and Raphael, as one of his most beloved artists, was asked to paint a painting that was supposed to be located above the Pope's tomb in the Roman Cathedral of San Pietro. Of course, Rafael Santi agreed to this work. "Sistine Madonna" became a tombstone.

Bicentennial wanderings of the famous canvas

It is assumed that the artist worked on his owna work in 1513, but the Pope's relatives changed their minds and set up a statue instead of a picture in the cathedral. It was the sculpture "Moses" of the work of Michelangelo, the eternal rival of Raphael. A rejected masterpiece of the artist was taken from Rome. Thus began the wanderings of the "Sistine Madonna".

For two centuries the picture was in the provincial town of Piacenza, in the Benedictine monastery.

This gave birth to the legend that "SistineMadonna "was written by order of monks for the church altar, more than two centuries passed, and the picture was acquired in 1754 by the passionate German art collector Augustus the Third, who paid for it 20,000 sequins, considerable for that time, the sum.The work was brought to Saxony, in The Dresden Palace Ensemble, but only the elite could see it.The pearl of the gallery, written by Rafael Santi, the "Sistine Madonna", for the next 100 years was hidden from view in one of the deserted halls of the palace.

Historical events that had to survive a famous masterpiece

Meanwhile, Europe was shaken by revolutions. In 1749, a popular uprising began in Germany. During street fighting in Dresden, the concert hall of Zwinger caught fire, but the pictures, fortunately, were not affected. After 6 years, the damaged part of the palace was restored.

In 1855 the "Sistine Madonna" together withother masterpieces were transported to another wing of the building. The Dresden Gallery has become a place of pilgrimage for thousands of people from many countries around the world. On May 8, 1945, Dresden attacked fifteen hundred American bombers. The historical center of the city, which has a three-hundred-year history, was destroyed in an hour and a half. The architectural ensemble of Zwinger was turned into ruins.

But two months away from DresdenSoviet soldiers found an abandoned quarry. There, directly on the damp stones lay the canvases of Dutch masters, and only one painting was carefully packed into a box with special shock absorbers. Of course, it was a famous masterpiece, which was created by Rafael Santi, - "Sistine Madonna".

Travel to Russia

In the summer of 1945, this picture, along with othercanvases from German museums was taken to Moscow. For nine years, the best restorers brought to life the damaged work of art. And in 1954, the Sistine Madonna and other exhibits of the Dresden Museum were exhibited for two months at the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow, after which they were returned to the GDR.

Over the years of his life, many workswrote Rafael Santi. The paintings "Sistine Madonna", "Three Graces", "Education of the Virgin Mary", "Triumph of Galatea" and many others cause a feeling of admiration and awe.