Woman in a striped turban hugs a child cheek to cheek; on the right, another child joins his hands, in a circle

Madonna della Seggiola

Raphael, c. 1513–1514

See it in the 3D Museum View the full image

What you see

Mary, seated in a chair, holds the Child tightly, pressing her cheek against his. Both look straight out at us. On the right, another child joins his hands and watches them. The figures curve along the round edge of the painting, and the eye circles with them, from Mary’s face down to the Child’s feet.

The colors are warm and lively: the green shawl, the red sleeve, the Child’s yellow wrap and a pale blue at the lower right. Watch for the red-and-white embroidered edge of the shawl, the stripes of the turban, the barely traced halos and the carved chair post with its gilded finial at the lower left.

About Raphael

Raphael Sanzio was born in Urbino and learned painting very young from his father, who was also a painter. His gentle Madonnas and harmonious compositions made him famous in Florence and Rome, where he decorated the pope’s rooms. He lived only 37 years but left an enormous body of work.

All 11 works by Raphael