Madonna and child

This engraving relates to drawings for Raphael's famous painting of the Madonna di Foligno, 1511-12, now in the Pinacoteca Vaticana, Rome. The Virgin is seated on clouds holding the Christ Child on her right knee; her right hand rests on his right thigh; he grasps her mantle with both hands; they are set within a penumbra of light. The engraving is by the first Italian printmaker of note, Marcantonio Raimondi, whose engravings of works by Raphael spread his fame worldwide. It is in the so-called King George IV album of Old Master prints, acquired by the Dominion Museum, forerunner of Te Papa, in 1910.

Dr Mark Stocker    Curator, Historical International Art     February 2017