Madonna and Child Enthroned with Saints

Raphael painted this altarpiece around 1504/5 for the Franciscan convent of Sant’Antonio in Perugia. It hung in a part of the church reserved for the nuns, who may have insisted on its conservative details, such as the elaborately clothed Christ. By contrast, the weighty male saints reflect the progressive style developed by Leonardo da Vinci and Fra Bartolomeo that Raphael had just begun to study in Florence. The lunette above the main panel depicts God the Father holding a globe and delivering a blessing between two angels and two seraphim. For more about this painting, including a reconstruction of the altarpiece, visit its collection record at The Met website.