The Alba Madonna
A woman and two children, all with pale skin and flushed cheeks, sit together in a landscape in this round painting. The woman takes up most of the composition as she sits with her right leg, to our left, tucked under her body. Her other leg, on our right, is bent so the foot rests on the ground, and that knee angles up and out to the side. She wears a rose-pink dress under a topaz-blue robe, and a finger between the pages of a closed book holds her place. Her brown hair is twisted away from her face. She has delicate features and her pink lips are closed. She looks and leans to our left around a nude young boy who half-sits and half-stands against her bent leg. The boy has blond hair and pudgy, toddler-like cheeks and body. The boy reaches his right hand, on our left, to grasp the tall, thin cross held by the second young boy, who sits on the ground next to the pair. This second boy has darker brown hair and wears a garment resembling animal fur. The boy kneels facing the woman and looks up at her and the blond boy. The trio sits on a flat, grassy area in front of a body of water painted light turquoise. Mountains in the deep distance are pale azure blue beneath a nearly clear blue sky.
Details
- Palette
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- Dimensions
- overall (diameter): 94.5 cm (37 3/16 in.) framed (diameter x depth): 140.34 × 15.88 cm (55 1/4 × 6 1/4 in.)
- Department
- CIS-R
- Holding institution
- National Gallery of Art
- Image provider
- national-gallery-of-art
- License
- CC0-1.0
- Credit
- Andrew W. Mellon Collection
Art Genome Taxonomy
9 tags
Subject Matter
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Madonna and Child Both · 98%
The title identifies the subject as the Alba Madonna, and the image shows a woman with a young child; a second child is also present.
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Nude Visual · 99%
The central child is shown nude, while the second child is largely unclothed beneath a fur-like garment.
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Landscapes and Waterscapes Visual · 99%
The composition includes grassy terrain, a body of water, distant mountains, vegetation, and buildings.
Styles and Movements
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Renaissance Art Metadata · 99%
The work is by Raphael and dated c. 1510, placing it within Renaissance art.
Medium and Techniques
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Painting Metadata · 99%
The National Gallery of Art classifies the work as a painting and identifies the medium as oil on panel transferred to canvas.
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Oil Painting Metadata · 99%
The catalog identifies the medium as oil on panel transferred to canvas.
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Tondo Both · 99%
The image is composed within a circular boundary, and the catalog gives the overall dimension as a diameter.
Time Periods
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16th Century Art Metadata · 99%
The catalog date of c. 1510 places the work in the 16th century.
Cultural and Religious Styles
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Christian Art and Architecture Both · 92%
The image shows a Madonna-and-Child subject and a prominent cross; the catalog title and description identify the central woman and children without naming a specific biblical episode.
Source & rights
Raphael. The Alba Madonna. Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington.