Rafaël - Study for the Kneeling Infant St John in 'The Alba Madonna', I 110 (PK)

This sketch depicts a young child in a kneeling position, his head tilted back with an expression of adoration. He wears a simple draped cloth around his waist and holds a tall, thin staff, suggested by a single vertical line. The figure is rendered with delicate hatching that defines the soft contours of his limbs and torso.

This work serves as a preparatory study for the 'Alba Madonna,' representing the High Renaissance synthesis of Christian devotion and Neoplatonic aesthetics. The figure of the 'San Giovannino' (Little St. John) was a central motif in the intellectual circles of Rome and Florence, often interpreted through the lens of the soul's recognition of divine light.