The Conestabile Madonna is a tondo painting framed in a decorative and intricate square frame depicting Mary and the Christ reading a book in front of an outdoor landscape.[2] The painting has changed over time as Raphael originally painted it on wood, but it was later moved to canvas in 1871, and Raphael had originally sketched Mary holding an apple instead of a book.[1]
The Conestabile Madonna has connections to other paintings, including Raphael’s later painting, The Bridgewater Madonna, and its design inspired Berto di Giovanni’s painting, The Virgin and Child with a Pomegranate.[2] The painting has traveled since its creation between different owners, and now resides in the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg.[1]
Context
There are conflicting reports on the patron for the Conestabile Madonna. Some scholars believe that Alfano Di Diamante could have commissioned the painting.[1] Other sources cite no record of a patron for the piece.[2] The exact date of the painting is unknown and was initially thought to be from sometime between 1500 and 1502. However, recent estimates suggest that Raphael painted the Conestabile Madonna in 1504.[2]
Physical Description
The Conestabile Madonna illustrates two figures, Mary and the Christ.[2] Mary is holding the Christ and a book, and both Mary and the Christ are reading the book in her hand, with the Christ gazing at the book intently.[2] Hugo Chapman suggests that this book is the Bible or a breviary.[1] The landscape and physical background of the painting is a gentle and serene backdrop. It features rolling hills and snowy mountains in the back to create a heightened sense of depth.[1] At mid-level, there is an icy body of water, either a river or lake. A few bare trees and four small figures are also in the background. The muted and natural tones contrast the blue and red in the Madonna’s clothing. This landscape reflects the influence of Perugia, seen in many of Raphael’s paintings.[1]
The Conestabile Madonna is a tondo painting.[2] However, Raphael had initially constructed the painting as a square. While painting, he changed the painting to a circular one by painting spandrels.[1] A unique element of the tondo painting is that Raphael does not show the entire length of Mary’s robes or the extent of the landscape behind Mary and Christ.[2] Therefore, the circular shape intentionally cuts off these elements of the painting.[2] Additionally, the painting is tiny in size as its dimensions are 17.5 cm x 18 cm.[2]
Frame
The Conestabile Madonnatondo is in a square decorative area. The spandrels on the frame, the decorated frame, and the painting combine to form Conestabile Madonna artistic piece. Mr. Meyer Zur Capellen believes the frame is potentially custom-made, and there is evidence of numerous restorations. The frame constitutes several pieces, and the lower frieze of the painting has a putty-filled hole. Mr. Meyer Zur Capellen believes the hole was potentially the location of a candle holder.[2]
The frame was traditionally regarded as an original part of Raphael's design, as well as the actual painting of the Conestabile Madonna. However, the design of the frame suggests that the frame was composed independently of the painting. The frame comprises many seemingly unrelated decorative pieces and follows no noticeable artistic scheme. The pieces' proportions do not fit, and the frame's artist did not design the decorative pieces added with pastiglia for their specific positions on the frame. Raphael's early sketches demonstrate a sense of architectural relationship, so Hugo Chapman believes his involvement in the frame is unlikely.[2]
Change over time
The Conestabile Madonna painting was originally constructed on wood but was moved to canvas. [2] In the final painting the Virgin Mary is holding a book, however when the painting was moved to canvas an underdrawing or sketch done by Raphael that depicts a different version of the painting was discovered.[2] In the underdrawing it reveals the original sketch had the Virgin Mary holding an apple and the sketch was inverse, therefore Mary and the Christ when you are looking at the painting were facing to the right. [2]
Connections to Other Paintings
Title:The Virgin and the Child with a Pomegranate
The Conestabile Madonna shares stylistic and compositional connections with Raphael’s later works. In this painting, the Christ appears almost weightless, contrasting with the more structured depiction in The Bridgewater Madonna.[1]Raphael's Perugian circle knew of his original composition, which was later copied by Berto di Giovanni, as evidenced by a drawing in Berlin.[1] Raphael revisited this arrangement in a Vienna drawing, incorporating both a pomegranate and a book to expand upon the painting’s symbolic elements.[1] The underdrawing closely resembles Berto di Giovanni's drawing, The Virgin and Child with a Pomegranate, but the Conestabile Madonna appears more hesitant in execution, suggesting it was an earlier work.[3]
Movement of the Painting
After Raphael painted it, the Alfani family owned the artwork around 1600 in Perugia. It likely came to the family through Domenico Alfani (c. 1480-1533), who collaborated with Raphael in Perugia. Hugo Chapman thought the piece to have been acquired by Alfano di Diamante (c. 1465-1550), a prominent merchant banker and head of the Alfani family. Alfano became acquainted with Raphael and later witnessed in 1516 a contract in which Raphael agreed to paint an altarpiece for him. Later, the Conestabile della Staffa acquired the painting in Perugia. Around 1868, the National Gallery showed significant interest in the painting. Instead, Tsar Alexander II purchased it in 1871. Afterward, it passed to the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg in 1880, where it resides today.[1]
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