Template:POTD/2019-06-10
The Alba Madonna is an oil painting by the Italian High Renaissance artist Raphael, produced around 1510. A circular piece, it depicts the Virgin Mary, the Christ Child and a young John the Baptist in a typical Italian countryside. John is holding up a cross to Jesus, which the latter is grasping. All three figures are staring at the cross. They are grouped to the left of the round design, but Mary's outstretched arm and billowing cloak balance the image. Originally painted on a circular wooden panel, the painting was transferred to a square canvas in the early nineteenth century, while in the collection of the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg. Through analysis of the painting, it has been determined that the original panel was severely splitting down the center and on the right side. The landscape on the far right of the work was damaged during the transfer process. The painting is now in the permanent collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.Painting credit: Raphael