Raphael. Saint Luke Painting the Madonna. Self-portrait probable by Raphael

Creativity, painting, art of Raphael Santi

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Saint Luke Painting the Madonna

Saint Luke Painting the Madonna and Child in the Presence of Raphael
Saint Luke Painting the Madonna

Raphael Santi
(Traditionally attributed to Raphael)
Saint Luke Painting the Madonna
and Child in the Presence of Raphael
ca. 1525

Oil on canvas
Accademia di San Luca, Rome, Italy

“In a curious painting in the Accademia di San Luca in Rome, Saint Luke, patron saint of painters, works on the original image of the Virgin and Child, who appear before him in a vision. At Luke’s right, Raphael looks at the unfinished image on its easel, while the Virgin inside the painting looks back at him. Raphael touches his heart, acknowledging that the image summons him to Luke’s profession. Although Raphael does not witness Luke’s vision directly, the figures in it looks at Raphael, confirming the link between Raphael, the image, and the vision. Over time and space, then, Raphael enjoys the saint’s vision through a painting. Luke’s painting, an image inside an image, becomes the medium of visionary experience."
Vision and the Visionary in Raphael: Christian K. Kleinbub

Probably self-portrait of Raphael

Raphael Santi
(wahrscheinlich)
Self-Portrait (detail)
in ‘Saint Luke Painting the Madonna and Child
in the Presence of Raphael’
ca. 1525
Oil on canvas
Accademia di San Luca, Rome, Italy

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