This library is built in the open.
If you spot an error, have a suggestion, or just want to say hello — we’d love to hear from you.
Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Hover to magnify, click for fullscreen
Original fileThe Virgin is seated centrally, holding the Christ Child who grasps a scroll held by the young Saint John. The figures are arranged in a balanced composition within a circular frame, set against a distant landscape of hills and a fortified town. The work displays the soft modeling and atmospheric perspective characteristic of the artist's Florentine period.
The tondo format was favored in Renaissance Florence as a symbol of the cosmos and divine perfection, aligning with Neoplatonic thought regarding the circle as the most perfect shape. This work marks Raphael's synthesis of Leonardo da Vinci's compositional harmony with the philosophical interests of the Florentine elite.
AGNIVS
Translation
Lamb
Marsilio Ficino
Ficino's Neoplatonic theories on the perfection of the sphere and the 'divine circle' influenced the popularity of the tondo format in Florentine art.
Object
Oil on panel
religious
Linked Data
AI AI-cataloged fields generated by gemini-3-flash-preview on April 2, 2026. Getty identifiers are AI-inferred and may require verification.