St Thérèse de Licieux
Madonna and the Chair
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The Madonna della Seggiola or The Madonna della Sedia (28″ in diameter (71 cm)) is an oil on panel Madonna painting by the High Italian Renaissance artist Raphael, executed c. 1513–1514, and housed at the Palazzo Pitti Collection in Florence, Italy. Although there is documentation of its arrival at its current location, Palazzo Pitti, it remains unknown who commissioned the painting; however, it has been in the Medici family since the 16th century.
The Madonna della Sedia is Raphael’s most humanistic form of the Madonna. Throughout Raphael’s life, this humanistic representation of the Madonna occupied his mind. The Madonna della Sedia is the incarnation of a realistic mother and child, representing human motherhood. Painted during his Roman period, this Madonna lacks the strict geometric form and linear style of his earlier Florentine treatments of the same subject. The Madonna is portrayed subtly and naturalistically, including her drapery, anatomy, and bodily movement, as if the result of immediate action. The Madonna della Sedia balanced simplification and detail with the treatment of her embroidered shawl, the directness of the figures and the touching of the two heads (Madonna and Christ child). Raphael dressed the Madonna in the Italian clothing of the time. Mary is depicted wearing a striped headdress that falls down her back and complements her richly coloured, fringed ornamental dress.
The Madonna’s image also shows less attention to careful selection, which takes the focus off refinement and shifts it toward a more rapid representation of an observation or attitude. The Christ child and Mary are both in profile, balancing the composition and resolving the issue of overcrowding. Mary is seated in a position that is not easily replicated in reality, allowing the Christ child to sit comfortably while balancing the figures within the painting’s round shape. The curvature of the two arms of Mary and Christ’s child in the foreground also lends a spherical form, rounding out the composition. The chair dictates the outer limits of the composition and is the painting’s namesake.
The colours play an important role in this painting, from the green embroidered garment to the cerulean blue, and the juxtaposition of the Madonna’s red sleeve with the Christ child’s orange drapery adds an extra element of richness and vibrancy to the colour palette. The warmer colours seem to suggest the influence of Titian and Raphael’s rival Sebastiano del Piombo.
The Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land in America
Bethlehem Shrine
Unfortunately, the commission for the Madonna della Sedia is undocumented, despite its creation during Raphael’s relatively well-documented twelve-year period in Rome. The painting was created at the same time Raphael was working on the frescoes in the Vatican Stanze and the Vatican loggia, including the paintings Incendio del Borgo, Battle of Ostia, and Coronation of Charlemagne. Most of Raphael’s commissions for this period were under the strict guidance of Pope Leo X (Giovanni di Lorenzo de’ Medici), who was known to be one of Raphael’s biggest patrons at the time. While under Leo’s patronage, Raphael rarely got commissions from outside of the pope’s immediate circle. Leo X was also the successor to Pope Julius II (Giuliano della Rovere), who was another major patron of Raphael and a central contributor to the High Renaissance. However, it has been speculated that the painting was commissioned for Leo X, thereby connecting it to the Medici family during the sixteenth century while the Medici were in Rome. The chair’s finial in the Madonna della Sedia provides evidence that the painting could have been commissioned for Pope Leo X. The finial takes the form of a round ball, similar to the Medici’s heraldic symbol, the palle, which is also seen in Leo’s coat of arms. On the other hand, the chair’s finial could also be a symbol for Pope Julius II and his family’s symbol, the Della Rovere oak acorn, further adding to the mystery of the unidentified patron.
Sala di Saturno (Room of Saturn) del Palazzo Pitti, ca. 1920. The Madonna della Sedia is to the left of the marble portal. It was already in the Gallerie Degli Uffizi, then moved to the Pitti Palace by the beginning of the eighteenth century. It was listed in inventories in 1723 and 1761 as being on display in the Grand Prince Ferdinando’s bedroom. It was later moved throughout the Rooms of the Planets, starting with the Room of Jupiter (c. 1771) and later the Room of Mars (c. 1793), after the Leopoldine rearrangement of the picture gallery. Towards the end of the eighteenth century, it was taken during the Napoleonic looting of Florence and was in Paris from 1799 to 1815. Back in Florence, the painting has been in the Room of Saturn since 1882.
Most Holy Theotokos icon Replica (Manse 1 #9)
Our Lady of Altagracia
Our Lady of Altagracia (Nuestra Señora de la Altagracia) is the revered patroness and spiritual mother of the Dominican Republic, celebrated annually on January 21. She is honoured through a 16th-century painting depicting the Nativity, kept in the Basilica Cathedral in Higüey, and is beloved as a protective figure.
Our Lady of Guadalupe
Our Lady of Guadalupe is a revered title of the Virgin Mary associated with her reported appearance to St. Juan Diego, an indigenous convert, on Tepeyac Hill near Mexico City in December 1531. She requested a chapel, and as proof, her image miraculously appeared on Juan Diego’s tilma (cloak) alongside blooming winter roses, contributing to widespread conversion in the Americas.
#9
#5
This ” Jesus I trust in you” is in Revd. Marie Room, who is a very high-quality icon purchased at Mary Queen of the World Church.
In the chapel, we have a print frame purchased at Value Village.
