The Alba Madonna, painted by Raphael around 1510. Oil on panel transferred to canvas. This is a circular painting, just over 3 feet in diameter.
This description is about 3 minutes long.
A woman – Mary, from the Bible – and two infants sit together on a grassy field in this circular composition. The woman and children are white skinned, and faint gold halos float above their heads. Mary is dressed in royal blue drapery over a rose-pink dress. The naked baby Jesus sits on her lap. Baby and mother look down towards our left at the slightly older toddler, John, who leans on Mary’s knee and looks back up at them. John holds the bottom of a tall cross and Jesus grips it near the middle.
The grassy field where they sit is dotted with plants and flowers. Behind them, a body of water leads back to hazy hills along the horizon. A building sits on a peninsula or island in the water to our left and a few buildings cluster at the base of a sheer hill to our right. Above is an azure sky with a few wispy white clouds.
Let’s explore the people in more detail, starting with Mary. She sits with her left foot forward and her right foot tucked under her. With her left elbow she leans on the tree stump or rock just behind her back. In that hand she holds a book, with her forefinger between the pages to keep the place. Her right arm, to our left, is stretched out, behind baby Jesus and John.
She has smooth skin with wide cheekbones, tinged with pink, and delicate features. Her brown eyes look towards or just past John. Her chestnut hair is swept back from her face and tucked under an olive-green turban. Her blue robe drapes over her shoulders and around her arms, and covers her legs to the ankle. Under it, we see her rose-pink dress on her chest and arms, and a bit peeks out under the lower hem of her blue robe. She wears a powder blue sandal on the foot that stretches out from under her robe.
The chubby Jesus half stands, half-perches on his mother’s right knee, with his left leg tucked up and his right foot on the ground. He has pale pink and white skin, soft blond curls, and brown eyes. He braces himself with one hand planted on Mary’s lap, and turns towards John almost in profile.
To the left, the slightly larger John kneels and looks up at them, also almost in profile. He has auburn curls and wears animal furs wrapped round his plump, otherwise naked body. Sprigs of flowers and plants are gathered in the folds of the fur at the front.
