A work of art that really impressed me was Raphael Sanzio’s, Madonna and Child with Book, circa 1502-1503 in Italy. It is important to understand the time period in which Raphael Sanzio completed this work because Raphael Sanzio's style of work definitely changed as he improved as an artist in his later years. The artist’s oil on panel painting, which is 21-3/4 by 15-3/4 inches, can be seen at the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, California. This painting was placed on one of the very back walls in the European fourteen to sixteen hundred era room in the Norton Simon Museum. The painting placed next Raphael Sanzio's, Madonna and Child with Book, is Lippi Filippino's, Saints Benedict and Apollonia, and Saints Paul and Frediano. The other artists …show more content…
As I continued to analyze the Madonna and Child with Book, I felt at peace and a sense of serenity to the painting. His utilization of color, such as the blues gives off the impression of peacefulness, like the water and sky. At first, Raphael Sanzio's use of vibrant colors made me believe this painting was from Venice. I recalled that Venice is known for the extravagant use of color such as the artist Titian, but then I realized I was studying an artwork from the Italian time period. The Madonna's face expression, and the peaceful scene out of sight demonstrate a feeling of smoothness that Raphael was attempting to show. The Madonna and Christ Child looked extremely naturalistic, just by the way the he was painted. The Christ Child’s body appears to look as if he is a real child like most Madonna and Child paintings of this time period, such as Leonardo da Vinci's, Madonna and Chid with Saint Anne and the Infant Saint John, Bellini's, Madonna and Child with Saints, and Lippi's, Madonna and Child with Angels. The painting looked so realistic, however I almost felt like it was unbalanced to a certain extent. One factor that I would like to further emphasize on is the position of Madonna’s arm. Madonna’s arm looks completely unrealistic, because her arm should not be set at that specific angle, a normal persons arm would look utterly different. Like most Madonna paintings, Madonna wears a profound blue robe, which the silhouette encases herself and the Christ Child. I also referred to the Raphael Sanzio paintings we discussed in class in the beginning of the semesters such as the School of Athens, where Raphael portrays himself as a scientist to show his art was science, Madonna in the Meadow, where we see the influence of Urbino Perugino, as I also do in this painting which I will further discuss