After Raphael – The Madonna and Child Part 1 National Gallery UK

Description of Raphael Santi’s painting "Madonna of Bridgewater

"The Madonna of Bridgewater" is part of Raphael Santi’s series of paintings devoted to depictions of the Madonna. The legendary artist’s brush painstakingly painted images of the Madonna, each time seeking to find, "probe" that very ideal, mysterious and unattainable.

The desire to portray the ideal is clearly displayed in the flawless face of Mary. Her facial features are refined and elegant, while at the same time her femininity and tenderness are contained in her thoughtful and loving gaze towards her child. Above the Madonna’s head there is a halo, a sign of holiness, emphasizing Mary’s divinity. She is holding a beautiful baby wriggling to her left. The Madonna herself leans slightly to the right, an arrangement of two figures in the center of the painting that looks as harmonious as possible. The divergence of the characters is replaced by a slight concatenation of gestures. The infant, for example, touches his mother’s veil while the mother gently holds him with her right hand.

The painting stands out for its intense, saturated colors, which give volume to the overall composition. The intensity of the color palette is emphasized by the darkened background, in which the interior of the room is faintly visible: a bench and a niche with an open door. Initially, Raphael wanted to depict a landscape around the Madonna and Child, typical of all the Madonnas depicted on other canvases, but later he decided to create a darkened room that would give expression to the main characters of the painting and emphasize the closeness of mother and child.

The contrast between darkness and light is so effectively incorporated into the painting that it cannot leave anyone indifferent. The mother and child seem to be sources of light, warmth, coziness, harmony and natural love in the midst of the dark room.