The Madonna of the Meadow

The Madonna of the meadow

The Madonna of the meadow is a painting with religious meanings, painted between 1505 and 1506 by Raphael, Italian artist from the High Renaissance. This masterpiece is an oil on wood of 44 in on 35 in and exhibited in Uffizi Gallery at Florence.

The painting is separated into 2 different parts. In the first one we can find three protagonists which are woman sitting on a rock and two children holding a Christian cross. Just in front of them we can see some flowers and rock.

Behind them, in the second plan we can tell that there is a valley with some thin trees and a river below. The river easily takes the viewer to a village hidden between hills. The sky and weather seems friendly, the sky is blue and barely cloudy.

By looking more precisely, the children represent Jesus on the right and Saint-Jean on the right. The composition is triangle shaped which testifies an interest between them. Actually the children are in physic touch and in eye contact While the woman who is none other than the Virgin pays visual attention to Saint John with a gentle and benevolent but still melancholic look; but also physical attention with the arms surrounding Jesus as well as the legs to the outside right, therefore the two children are under Mary's supervision.

The chiaroscuro of the Virgin with the bright colors of her dress and the soft colors of the rest of the canvas thus highlights her. This is amplified by the sfumato of the landscape in the background that gives a more imprecise side which contrasts, once again with the sharpness of the virgin. A second chiaroscuro is identified. The pallor of almost immaculate children opposes the dark green of the lawn, which puts them forward in the same way as the virgin.

If we are interested in colorimetry, this canvas also gives us messages such as the red worn by the virgin representing the passion of Christ and the blue, the church; which could be similar to the episode of Jesus' sacrifice for the union of the church. The messages do not stop there the presence of The Cross would also be a premonitory way to approach the fatal destiny of Jesus, which would explain the sweet face but the melancholic look of his mother.

...