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Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · Hover to magnify, click for fullscreen
Original fileThis sketch depicts the Virgin Mary kneeling in profile with her hands joined in prayer. An angel supports the nude Christ Child, who looks toward the viewer while pointing a single finger upward toward the heavens. The composition is rendered with light, fluid lines and includes a minimalist landscape with a distant building outline.
Raphael’s religious works are central to the High Renaissance synthesis of Christian devotion and Neoplatonic philosophy. The Christ Child's upward gesture is a common motif representing 'anagoge'—the Neoplatonic ascent of the soul from the material world to the divine source, an idea popularized by Marsilio Ficino.
181 150 m L R.V
Marsilio Ficino
Ficino's Neoplatonic theories on divine beauty and the soul's ascent informed the intellectual climate of Raphael's career in Florence and Rome.
Object
Oil on panel
religious
Digital Source
Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/search?agent=Raphael&technique=drawn&view=grid&sort=object_name__asc&page=1
2044 × 2500 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.