The Madonna of Loreto is a painting finished around 1508–1509 by the Italian High Renaissance painter Raphael. It is housed in the Musée Condé of Chantilly, France.
For centuries the painting kept company with Raphael's Portrait of Pope Julius II, first at the Santa Maria del Popolo, then in private collections, and for a time their location was unknown. Their ownership, or provenance, has been difficult to unravel because of the number of copies of both paintings, the unclear ownership chain, misinformation and delay of publication of vital information.
For instance, this painting received its name from a copy at the Basilica della Santa Casa in Loreto which was at one time thought to be the original. Now is it certain that the painting at Loreto was a copy – and therefore the painting name is a misnomer.
Even so, the well-copied painting has been a beloved and critically acclaimed painting for centuries.
The painting is tender and intimate. The Child, just awakened, plays a game with the Madonna's veil, with a melancholy Saint Joseph looking on from the shadows.
The use of veil in Renaissance paintings, from the Meditations on the Life of Christ, symbolizes the manner in which the Madonna wrapped the Child in the veil from her head at the Nativity and, prophetically, again at the Crucifixion.
Saint Joseph's melancholy nature in this picture may signal his proclivity for prophecy and the coming events for the Child. Saint Joseph seemed to be an after-thought, x-rays of the painting show that Saint Joseph was painted over a window previously over the Madonna's shoulder. Further, the change in the position of the Child's right foot was revealed via x-ray. These changes align with Raphael's preliminary drawings for the painting.
The Madonna's dress, frame and angle of her head are reminiscent of Justice in the Stanza della Segnatura which was painted about the same time as this painting. It is also reminiscent of the Madonna of the Blue Diadem.
The history of the painting is difficult to track for many reasons, one of them being the various names for the painting, which tell the history, or the perceived history, of the original Raphael painting. This work is one of the most copied works of Raphael with over one hundred known copies.
The provenance of this painting is constructed based on documents, analysis of the painting and preliminary sketches. For centuries the painting was co-located with the Portrait of Pope Julius II, first at the Santa Maria del Popolo, then in private collections, and for a time their location was unknown. The original painting by Raphael is now believed to be the version at Musée Condé in Chantilly, France.
Julius II commissioned of Raphael the Madonna of the Veil and his likeness, the Portrait of Pope Julius II which resided at Santa Maria del Popolo, at the entrance gate to Rome. During this time the painting was also known as Madonna del Popolo or described as The Holy Family.
An array of Renaissance artists were brought in to decorate the Santa Maria del Popolo church and its chapels in Rome, beginning with Raphael. Both paintings by Raphael, Julius II and the Madonna were hung on pillars during feast days or high holy days.
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