Madonna Aldobrandini ( Madonna Aldobrandini ) - one of the Madonna of Raphael , written by him presumably in 1509-10, before the very departure from Florence to Rome or immediately after it. Judging by the location of the sketches in the artist’s workbook, it was created at the same time as the Madonna of the Macintosh . Exhibited at the London National Gallery .
In the XVII — XVIII centuries. (until the end of the 1780s) the painting was kept in the collection of the noble Aldobrandini family in the Villa Borghese , which probably came from the house of Lucretia d'Este. During the Napoleonic Wars, it was acquired in Rome by the English miniaturist Alexander Day . In 1824, he sold the painting to Lord Garvagh of the Cunning family, a cousin of George and Charles Cunning . In 1865, the “Madonna of Lord Garvag” was bought from his widow by the National Gallery.
The Madonna Aldobrandini is a classic example of a pyramidal composition. Mary's robes are designed in her traditional colors - red and blue. The landscape outside the two windows on either side of Maria betrays the influence of Leonardo da Vinci ( Madonna Litta ). According to Kavalkazele , the tower and the farm outside the window is a landscape more characteristic of Lazio than Tuscany , which indicates the painting after moving to Rome.
Madonna sits in an armchair and holds the baby Christ in her arms. With her left hand she embraces the young John the Baptist . The eyes of all three are fixed on the carnation flower, which John gives to the baby. According to the iconographic tradition, carnation symbolizes the blood shed on the cross, as well as the secret connection of the mother with the baby and Christ with his church.