Ansidei Madonna - Commission and Provenance

Commission and Provenance

Niccolò Ansidei commissioned Raphael to paint an altarpiece of a group of paintings titled "The Madonna and Child with Saint John the Baptist and Saint Nicholas of Bari (The Ansidei Madonna)" for his family chapel dedicated to Saint Nicholas in the church of San Fiorenzo, Perugia.

Two paintings formed the predella for Raphael's altarpiece the "Ansidei Madonna." The first, "Saint John the Baptist Preaching", was placed beneath the image of Saint John in the main altarpiece, and is now owned by the National Gallery. The panels that depicted her betrothal, positioned below the Virgin and Child and another below Saint Nicholas of one of his miracles have not survived.

There is some question about the date, or dates, of the painting. Original understanding was that the painting was begun in 1505, fitting with Raphael's style at that time, strongly influenced by Perugino. Careful observation revealed that the painting was dated 1507. One can fairly reasonably assume, though, based upon the Raphael's style, that the work began in 1505 and was finished in 1507.

The chapel that held "Ansidei Madonna" was dismantled in 1763 when the church of San Fiorenzo was remodeled. The chapel was reassembled and now contains a 19th century copy of its original altarpiece, the "Ansidei Madonna", by Raphael. The work was bought by young Lord Robert Spenser in 1764, for an undisclosed, but apparently large sum of money as a gift to his brother, the 4th Duke of Marlborough. Placed in Blenheim Palace, one of the most magnificent buildings in Europe and home of the Duke of Marlborough, the work was sometimes known as the "Blenheim Madonna."

"Ansidei Madonna", considered "one of the most perfect pictures of the world", of the Blenheim Collection was sold by George Spencer-Churchill, 8th Duke of Marlborough, under the Lord Cairn's Act for ₤75,000 or nearly unanimously cited at ₤70,000, which was about $350,000, to the London National Gallery in 1885. At the time, this was three times the highest amount paid for a painting, likely in large part because there were few Raphael paintings placed in foreign galleries at that time.