<body><![CDATA[Acquired by the National Gallery for £22m this year, some think that too expensive for a painting they suspect is not an authentic Raphael but the contemporary copy it counted as for years. However, the evidence of its authenticity now seems overwhelming. The small format needs explanation. The picture was painted for a private individual, probably one Maddalena degli Oddi, who would have held the little wood panel in her hand while praying. The subject, though, is not as straightforward to interpret as it may seem at first. For one thing the mother and son are not posed stiffly and formally, as earlier artists portrayed them; their relationship seems more natural. The carnation (or pink) is traditionally a symbol of pure love. Moreover, a red pink symbolises betrothal, so the Virgin Mary here is depicted not only as the mother but also the Bride of Christ. Mother and son are also located in a bedchamber: you can see the bed curtain tied behind the Virgin’s head. The composition is derived from Leonardo, and the style isn’t entirely typical of Raphael. The colours are cooler than in his other work, and there is an uncharacteristic metallic sheen on the Virgin’s clothes. These were further reasons why its authenticity was questioned, until recently discovered evidence of the picture’s first ownership dispelled the doubts.]]></body>
