Conestabile Madonna

The Conestabile Madonna is a small (and probably unfinished) painting by the Italian Renaissance artist Raphael. It was likely the last work painted by Raphael in Umbria before moving to Florence.

Its name comes from the Conestabile family of Perugia, from whom it was acquired by Alexander II of Russia in 1871. The Tsar presented it to his consort, Maria Alexandrovna. Since then, the painting has been on exhibit in the Hermitage Museum of St. Petersburg.

The painting portrays the Madonna holding the Child while reading a book. In 1881, when the picture was moved to canvas, it was discovered that in the original version the Madonna contemplated a pomegranate (symbol of the Passion) instead of the book.

Raphael

Early works	The Kinnaird Resurrection Baronci Altarpiece St. Sebastian Oddi Altar Solly Madonna Mond Crucifixion Three Graces St. Michael Portrait of a Man Connestabile Madonna Madonna and Child The Marriage of the Virgin Vision of a Knight St. George Colonna Altarpiece Portrait of Perugino (also attributed to Lorenzo di Credi) Madonna and Child with the Book

Florentine period	Portrait of Elisabetta Gonzaga (attributed) Portrait of Emilia Pia da Montefeltro (attributed) Portrait of Guidobaldo da Montefeltro Self-portrait Madonna of the Grand Duke Ansidei Madonna Young Man with an Apple Christ Blessing Madonna Terranuova Madonna of the Goldfinch Madonna of the Meadow Esterhazy Madonna Small Cowper Madonna St. George and the Dragon La donna gravida Portrait of Agnolo Doni Portrait of Maddalena Doni Madonna of the Pinks Young Woman with Unicorn Madonna with Beardless St. Joseph Saint Catherine of Alexandria Canigiani Holy Family La belle jardinière Deposition of Christ Portrait of a Young Woman Tempi Madonna Madonna Colonna Madonna de Bogota

Roman period	Portrait of Cardinal Alessandro Farnese La disputa The School of Athens Madonna of Loreto Aldobrandini Madonna Madonna with the Blue Diadem Portrait of a Cardinal Alba Madonna Niccolini-Cowper Madonna The Parnassus Cardinal and Theological Virtues The Prophet Isaiah The Expulsion of Heliodorus from the Temple Portrait of Pope Julius II Madonna of Foligno Madonna with the Fish Triumph of Galatea Sistine Madonna Madonna della seggiola Madonna dell'Impannata Madonna della tenda The Fire in the Borgo The Meeting of Leo the Great and Attila Deliverance of Saint Peter The Mass at Bolsena Portrait of Bindo Altoviti The Sibyls The Ecstasy of St. Cecilia Portrait of Balthasar Castiglione La donna velata Portrait of Tommaso Inghirami Palazzo Branconio dell'Aquila Portrait of Andrea Navagero and Agostino Beazzano Portrait of Cardinal Bibbiena Church of Sant'Eligio degli Orefici Creation of the World Transfiguration Portrait of Pope Leo X with Two Cardinals Christ Falling on the Way to Calvary The Holy Family of Francis I Ezekiel's Vision St. Michael Vanquishing Satan Madonna of the Rose Self-portrait with a Friend La fornarina Visitation Portrait of a Young Man The Miraculous Draught of Fishes Christ's Charge to Peter The Healing of the Lame Man The Death of Ananias The Stoning of St. Stephen Conversion of the Proconsul The Sacrifice at Lystra St. Paul in Prison St. Paul Preaching in Athens Palazzo Jacopo da Brescia

Famous quotes containing the word madonna:

“In our minds lives the madonna image—the all-embracing, all- giving tranquil mother of a Raphael painting, one child at her breast, another at her feet; a woman fulfilled, one who asks nothing more than to nurture and nourish. This creature of fantasy, this myth, is the model—the unattainable ideal against which women measure, not only their performance, but their feelings about being mothers.”
—Lillian Breslow Rubin (20th century)