One of the most frequently discussed and mostFavorite masterpieces of the Renaissance - this is the painting "Sistine Madonna" by Raphael. For many people, it remains an example of high western painting. Its popularity is almost as great as that of Mona Lisa. Everyone who studied this canvas recognized the strange and confusing expressions of Mary and the baby Jesus, but all attempts to decipher their meanings were often unsuccessful.
A small history of the great masterpiece
The works of Raphael are extraordinarily significant andinteresting. When he wrote his canvas "Sistine Madonna", he made a breakthrough in the works and left a unique masterpiece for posterity. Initially, this picture was rejected by customers and doomed to perennial travel. She saw the asceticism of the monastery walls and the luxury of the royal palaces. In the XVI century, this unique work was almost forgotten, in the XIX became one of the most popular creations of world art, and in the middle of the XX century it almost died. All these peripeties have fallen to the share of the canvas, which was written by Rafael Santi, - "Sistine Madonna".
A masterpiece that can not leave indifferent
The great Italian painter of the Renaissancecalled the poet of the image of Madonna. The motive of the mother with the baby remained unchanged in many works of Raphael, but the “Sistine Madonna” makes the strongest impression on the viewer - the eyes of the Madonna are trusting and anxious at the same time.
With greatness and simplicity, women carry the mostdear - his son. Madonna easily and confidently walks on the clouds that swirl under her bare feet. A breeze throws away the edge of her plain cloak. With all her appearance, the Madonna resembles an ordinary peasant woman. She even keeps her son as peasant women usually keep children. This is how the author of the Sistine Madonna conveyed the image of the Virgin Mary.
Assumptions of art about the masterpiece of Raphael
This simple woman is met as the Queen of Heaven.The kneeling old man in the ceremonial papal gown is admiringly looking at Madonna - this is the Holy Sixt. It was to him that the Mother of God appeared with her companion Saint Barbara, who facilitates the torments of the dying.
Art historians pay close attention to the workRaphael "Sistine Madonna": the description of the picture and its detailed study takes the minds of researchers for many decades, because this is the gravestone canvas that the artist created for the death of his benefactor Pope Julius the Second. That is why the features of Julius are depicted in the image of Saint Sixt, and the papal tiara, standing on the parapet, is topped with an acorn, the coat of arms of Julius the Second.
Order for the tomb picture
Patron of Raphael Santi was waywardan old man. He could beat the artist with his staff or give the order to destroy the frescoes that he did not like. At the same time, Julius did not spare any funds for decorating palaces and churches.
At his request, Rafael was engaged in painting the halls.The new papal palace in Rome created the majestic frescoes of the "School of Athens", "Dispute", "Parnassus" and others. In 1513, Julius II died, and Raphael, as one of his most beloved artists, was asked to paint a picture that was to be located above the tomb of the Pope in the Roman Cathedral of San Pietro. Of course, Rafael Santi agreed to do this work. The Sistine Madonna has become a tombstone.
Bicentennial wanderings famous paintings
It is assumed that the artist worked on hisproduct in 1513, but the Pope's relatives changed their minds and in the cathedral instead of the painting, they installed a statue. It was a sculpture of "Moses" by Michelangelo, the eternal rival of Raphael. And the rejected masterpiece of the artist was taken out of Rome. So began the wanderings of the Sistine Madonna.
For two centuries, the picture was in the provincial town of Piacenza, in the Benedictine monastery.
This gave rise to the legend that the "SistineMadonna "was commissioned by monks for the church altar. More than two centuries passed, and the picture was acquired in 1754 by the passionate German collector of painting August the Third. He paid for it 20,000 workshops, a considerable amount at that time. The work was brought to Saxony, The Dresden palace ensemble, but only the elect could see it. The pearl of the gallery, written by Rafael Santi, the Sistine Madonna, was hidden from prying eyes in one of the deserted halls of the palace for the next 100 years.
Historical events, which had to endure the famous masterpiece
Meanwhile, Europe was shaken by the revolution.In 1749, a popular uprising began in Germany. During the street fighting in Dresden, the Zwinger Concert Hall caught fire, but the paintings, fortunately, did not suffer. After 6 years, the damaged part of the palace was restored.
In 1855 the Sistine Madonna, along withother masterpieces were transported to another wing of the building. The Dresden Gallery has become a place of pilgrimage for thousands of people from many countries of the world. On May 8, 1945, Dresden attacked one and a half thousand American bombers. The historical center of the city, which has a three hundred year history, was destroyed in an hour and a half. The architectural ensemble Zwinger was turned into ruins.
But after two months not far from DresdenSoviet soldiers discovered an abandoned quarry. There, directly on the raw stones lay canvases of Dutch masters, and only one picture was carefully packed in a box with special shock absorbers. Of course, it was the famous masterpiece that created Rafael Santi - "The Sistine Madonna."
Travel to Russia
In the summer of 1945, this picture along with othercanvases from German museums was exported to Moscow. For nine years, the best restorers brought the affected work back to life. And in 1954, the Sistine Madonna and other exhibits of the Dresden Museum were exhibited for two months at the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow, after which they were returned to the GDR.
Over the years of his life many worksWrote Rafael Santi. Paintings "Sistine Madonna", "Three Graces", "Teaching the Virgin Mary", "Triumph of Galatea" and many others cause a feeling of admiration and reverent awe.
