Old Paint
Raphael, The Seated Madonna 1514 on Flickr.
Click image for 650 x 655 size.
Merry Christmas!
Rafael, Saint Catherine of Alexandria, 1507 on Flickr.
Click image for 804 x 1028 size.
Scanned from “Os Santos”, Elizabeth Hallam.
Raphael’s ‘Madonna and Child Enthroned with Saints (detail expanded)
”… Glory to the newborn King”
Raphael (1483 – 1520)
‘Madonna and Child Enthroned with Saints’ 1504,
Three Graces (Raphael)
The Three Graces in Ancient Greece
The Graces, or Charities as they were also called, were personifications of charm, grace, and beauty. Most often they were the daughters of Zeus and Eurynome. Three graces, Euphrosyne, Aglaia, and Thaleia are most frequently named.
Social intercourse, manners, and culture were their realm and they were obvious associates of the Muses. Early images showed them clothed, but they eventually were almost always portrayed nude.
I just finished the Showtime series The Borgias and I want to clarify a few things. This painting of Giulia Farnese allegedly painted by Pinturicchio is in fact a work by Raphael Sanzio in 1505 contrary to the setting of 1492 (that would’ve been impossible for the artist to paint such a masterpiece at only the ripe old age of 9 years old. The work was of uncertain attribution until recent times. In the 1760 inventory of the Gallery, the subject of the painting was identified as Saint Catherine of Alexandria and attributed to Perugino. A restoration of the painting in 1934-36 confirmed art historian Roberto Longhi’s hypothesis that the work was by Raphael, and the removal of heavy repainting revealed the unicorn, traditionally a symbol of purity in medieval romance, in place of a Saint Catherine’s wheel. Later restoration work on the painting in 1959 revealed the image of a dog, even earlier than the unicorn, also a symbol of chastity and conjugal fidelity. The identity of the young woman, and the client for whom the work was done, are both unknown.
Raphael, The Seated Madonna 1514 on Flickr.
Click image for 640 x 426 size.
