Madonna della seggiola

This circular painting shows Mary wearing a colorful striped shawl and a headscarf, pulling Jesus close while sitting on a turned wooden chair. To the right, the young Saint John the Baptist holds a small wooden cross and watches the mother and child. The composition is tightly packed into the round frame, using the curve of the circle to dictate the leaning poses of the figures.

The use of the tondo (circular) format reflects the Renaissance fascination with perfect geometry as a representation of the divine and the cosmic order. This focus on mathematical harmony and idealized beauty was central to the Neoplatonic thought prevalent in the Roman and Florentine circles where Raphael worked.