Madonna of the Meadow

    I chose to read the article "Raphael's "Small Cowper Madonna" and "Madonna of the Meadow": Their Technique and Leonardo Sources" by David Alan Brown to learn more about Raphael's painting, Madonna of the Meadow after reading a little bit about it in Chapter 13. The purpose of this JSTOR article was to compare the two artworks, Small Cowper Madonna and Madonna of the Meadow, both created by High Renaissance artist, Raphael Sanzio, after cleaning. In the article, the author compared and contrasted the two works, while going in depth on the artistic choices that Raphael made in his paintings. Another main point in the article was Leonardo's influence in Raphael's paintings. "The purpose of this article is to compare the two paintings by Raphael, after cleaning, and to do so in terms not only of their technique but also of their sources in the work of Leonardo da Vinci" (Brown 9). 
    
Raphael
Madonna in the Meadow
1505-1506
Raphael
The Small Cowper Madonna
1505
Oil on panel
   The article "Raphael's "Small Cowper Madonna" and "Madonna of the Meadow": Their Technique and Leonardo Sources," gave more information on the actual art aspects of the artwork Madonna of the Meadow, while Chapter 13 gave more information of the arrangement and placement aspects. "Raphael arranged his figures in a pyramidal configuration to create a believable and balanced space," (Cunningham 298). The article diverted more attention to the detail of the painting in order to understand the choices that Raphael made in his painting better by comparing it to another one of his paintings. "...the paint film in the Madonna of the Meadow is more dense, preserving not only the underpaint but often the final layers as well. Thus, we find not only a greater depth of the shadows than in the Small Cowper Madonna, but also a more subtle play of worm and cool tones in the flesh in the Madonna of the Meadow," (Brown 13). Another piece of important information that was included in the article but not in Chapter 13 was the importance of Leonardo da Vinci. In Chapter 13, Leonardo's influence was briefly talked about in regards to the painting, "this geometrical device, which had already been popularized by Leonardo da Vinci, was congenial to the Renaissance preoccupation with rationally ordered composition," (Cunningham 298). While that was all that was mentioned of Leonardo's influence in Madonna of the Meadow in Chapter 13, the article examined more parts of the painting and compared it to Leonardo's paintings to give credit and stress the importance on how much Leonardo actually influenced the figures in Madonna of the Meadow by providing images and comparing parts of Raphael's paintings to Leonardo's paintings. "Raphael used he looped drapery to form one corner of the base of s pyramidal figure group, as he would do with the motif of the Virgin's foot derived from Leonardo in the Madonna of the Meadow. Mary's right hand in Raphael's painting is a direct quotation from the Mona Lisa. The fact that this is a mere borrowing is made clear by the way the Madonna supports the baby's foot" (Brown 20).
Leonardo da Vinci
Mona Lisa
1503-1519
Oil on wood panel
                                                              
    The reason why I chose this article in particular was because of how in depth the author went in to compare the paintings. He provided images and evidence as well that makes the article easy to understand. By comparing the paintings, it gave me a better understanding overall of each artwork and of Raphael as an artist. For example, the techniques that he uses and what he wanted to move the audience's attention towards in the paintings. "We can now appreciate details that were formerly obscure, like the sunlight on the distant hills and the yellowish tinge of the Virgin's vail" (Brown 13). I wanted to learn more about Raphael because of one of his paintings that really appealed to me, School of Athens. I enjoyed reading and studying it, so I wanted to know more about Raphael and his art style. 

Here is a short 4 minute video that you can watch if you want to learn more about Raphael's Madonna in the Meadow!

Works Cited

  • Cunningham, Lawrence, and John J. Reich. Culture and Values: A Survey of the Humanities. Belmont, CA: Thomson/Wadsworth, 2006. Print.
  • Brown, David Alan. “Raphael’s ‘Small Cowper Madonna’ and ‘Madonna of the Meadow’: Their Technique and Leonardo Sources.” Artibus et Historiae, vol. 4, no. 8, IRSA s.c., 1983, pp. 9–26, https://doi.org/10.2307/1483213.

  • “Madonna in the Meadow - Raphael - Google Arts & Culture.” Google, Google, https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/madonna-in-the-meadow-raphael/1wH8Q5iTWK8G3Q?hl=en.

  • “The Small Cowper Madonna.” Art Object Page, https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.1196.html.

  • “Mona Lisa.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., https://www.britannica.com/topic/Mona-Lisa-painting.




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