The Madonna of the Pinks (circa 1506-1507, Italian: La Madonna dei garofani) is an early devotional painting by the Italian Renaissance master Raphael. It is painted in oils on fruitwood and now hangs in the National Gallery, London.
The painting depicts a youthful Virgin Mary playing with the Christ child and handing him carnations. These flowers, whose botanical name is dianthus (Greek for ‘flower of God’), are a premonition of Christ's Passion...
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The Madonna of the Pinks (circa 1506-1507, Italian: La Madonna dei garofani) is an early devotional painting by the Italian Renaissance master Raphael. It is painted in oils on fruitwood and now hangs in the National Gallery, London.
The painting depicts a youthful Virgin Mary playing with the Christ child and handing him carnations. These flowers, whose botanical name is dianthus (Greek for ‘flower of God’), are a premonition of Christ's Passion – according to Christian legend, the flower first appeared when the Virgin wept at the Crucifixion. The event takes place in a dimly-lit domestic setting influenced by Netherlandish art. The composition is based closely on the Benois Madonna by Leonardo da Vinci, although the colour scheme of blues and greens that link the Virgin with the landscape is Raphael's own. Through the arched window is a landscape with a ruined building, symbolising the collapse of the pagan world at the birth of Christ.
The subject matter and size of the painting,...
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