Madonna and Child Enthroned with Saints
Medium
Oil and gold on wood
Dimensions
Main panel, overall 67 7/8 x 67 7/8 in. (172.4 x 172.4 cm), painted surface 66 3/4 x 66 1/2 in. (169.5 x 168.9 cm); lunette, overall 29 1/2 x 70 7/8 in. (74.9 x 180 cm), painted surface 25 1/2 x 67 1/2 in. (64.8 x 171.5 cm)
Classification
Paintings
Department
European Paintings
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1916
Accession Number
16.30ab
Tags
Art Historical Context
Raphael's *Madonna and Child Enthroned with Saints*, created around 1504 when the artist was just 21, exemplifies the early mastery of the High Renaissance. This grand altarpiece features the Virgin Mary and Christ Child seated on a throne, surrounded by Saints Catherine, John the Baptist, Paul, and Peter, with angels attending above in a lunette. The square main panel (nearly 68 inches across) and arched lunette create a harmonious, monumental composition typical of Italian church decorations, inviting worshippers into a serene heavenly gathering known as a *sacra conversazione*. Painted in ...