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Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · Hover to magnify, click for fullscreen
Original fileThe Virgin Mary is depicted in a half-length pose, holding a small open book in her left hand. The Christ child stands in her lap, looking up at her face as she focuses on the text. Rapid, confident pen lines suggest a pastoral background with silhouettes of figures and distant architecture.
The 'Madonna of the Book' motif positions Mary as the 'Sedes Sapientiae' (Seat of Wisdom), reflecting the Renaissance integration of Christian theology with Neoplatonic ideals of divine logos. Raphael's pursuit of 'grazia' (grace) was philosophically grounded in the belief that physical beauty serves as a visible manifestation of spiritual and intellectual virtue.
63 R.V
Translation
The initials R.V stand for 'Raphael Vrbinas' (Raphael of Urbino).
Marsilio Ficino
Ficino's Neoplatonic philosophy regarding the contemplation of beauty as a path to divine truth provided the intellectual framework for Raphael's idealized human forms.
Object
Oil on panel
religious
Digital Source
Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
https://sammlungenonline.albertina.at/ "Raffaello Santi" (KÜNSTLER_IN) Graphische Sammlung (Sammlung)
850 × 1069 px
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.