Sistine Madonna Project The Challenge of Reproducing One of Raphael’s Most Beloved Madonnas Figure 1. Sistine Madonna by Raphael Figure 2. The Mastercopy by Losana Boyd and Llewellyn Matthews Purpose of this Article Raphael Sanzio da Urbino, known as Raphael, was an artist of the high Renaissance who produced one of the most beloved Madonna paintings of all time, the Sistine Madonna. This is the story of reconstructing Raphael’s methods and deciphering images of a painting that has seen challenges, particularly in the last 75 years of its 500-year history. The work was undertaken by artists Losana Boyd and Llewellyn Matthews as a mastercopy for a private chapel in the US. Boyd and Matthews are graduates of the Angel Academy of Art in Florence Italy and brought significant academic training to the endeavor. History of the Painting – World War II survivor The Sistine Madonna (Madonna di San Sisto) was commissioned in 1512 by Pope Julius II in honor of his uncle Pope Sixtus IV as an altarpiece for the basilica church of the Benedictine Monastery of San Sisto in Piacenza. It is one of Raphael's last Madonnas and considered to be the last Madonna by his own hand rather than the work of assistants. It was immediately recognized not only as a masterpiece but also as a rare and extraordinary work. It is considered one of the greatest pieces of the Italian Renaissance. In 1754 the King of Poland purchased the altarpiece for 110,000-120,000 francs, a record not broken for decades. After a time in private hands, the Sistine was moved to its current home, the Gemaldegalerie Alte Meister in Dresden. With war looming in 1938, the Nazis moved the Sistine Madonna out of Dresden for safe-keeping to a tunnel in Saxon Switzerland. The artwork was thus saved from the firebombing that destroyed Dresden but its condition became a subject of controversy. The tunnel was discovered by the Soviet "trophy brigades" in 1945 and the Madonna was whisked away to the U.S.S.R., along with millions of other cultural treasures taken as war reparations from German and Eastern European museums and castles. The tunnel had been climate controlled but the Russians stated that the power had failed and the pieces were exposed to humid and flooded conditions. Transportation to Moscow was in a tented rail car. In 1954 the painting was returned to Germany in a diplomatic gesture. It is restored and is now on display at the Gemaldegalerie Alte Meister. We cannot know with certainty what the painting looked like prior to World War II as there were no color photographs. Nor can we know exactly what happened to it during storage in the Swiss tunnel and later transportation to Moscow. We do know that return of all artwork after the war was a challenge undertaken with limited resources. We can surmise from photos of the time both the limited resources involved in transporting art during and after WW II as well as the joy of returned artwork. Importance of the Painting The Sistine Madonna is the only Raphael on display in Germany and was immediately adored. It was also considered an influence in German as well as Russian romanticism of the 19th century. Friedrich Nietzsche called her "the vision of the future wife." Johann Wolfgang Goethe revered her as the "queen of all mankind." Thomas Mann praised her as "my greatest experience in the art of painting.” Raphael’s Inspiration In 1821 Vasily Zhukovsky visited the Dresden museum and wrote an impassioned essay, “Rafaeleva Madonna” (Raphael’s Madonna): They say that having stretched the canvas for this painting, Raphael for some time did not know what it would be: inspiration did not come. One day he fell asleep thinking about the Madonna and truly some kind of angel woke him. He jumped up: she is here! —he cried out, having pointed at the canvas and drew the first sketch. And indeed it is not a painting, but a vision: the longer you look, the more vividly you become convinced, that before you something unworldly is happening (especially if you look in such a way that its frame and other paintings are not visible). And this is not a trick of the imagination: here is no seduction by the liveliness of the paint, or by the outward shine. Here without the cunning of art, but with astonishing simplicity and ease, the soul of the painter imparted to the canvas that miracle which took place in its core. Composition and Symbolism Raphael was a master not only of emotional imagery but also of composition based on concepts of sacred geometry of the time. We find the two saints within a square composition, symbolizing the earthly realm, while the Madonna and Child are in a triangular format, symbolizing the divine trinity. Further, the Madonna and Child are designed within a series of circles symbolizing the sanctity of the mother child relationship. Interpreting the Sistine Madonna for a Mastercopy The Clients Selection and Artists Compositional Decisions The clients chose a painting of just the central figures of the Madonna and Child on a canvas about half the size of the original. This allows the copy of the Madonna and Child to be approximately the same size as in the original. The copy is 135 cm by 100 cm compared to the original at 296 by 196 cm. This choice also allowed for incorporation of the drapery, which was a key compositional element for Raphael. The artists made adjustments to the fabric to accommodate the format chosen by the clients. Deciphering Raphael’s Methods – Step by step To determine Raphael’s methods, the artists looked at unfinished work by Leonardo Da Vinci as well as unfinished work by Raphael. Da Vinci’s unfinished “St Jerome” in the Vatican Museum shows a method of based on a drawing and underpainting in dark tones, likely burnt umber over a mid-tone campitura (color of the canvas). Raphael tended towards a lighter palette, hence we see the same approach but lighter in the unfinished angel figures of the Baldachinno Madonna. Figure 4. Baldachinno Madonna by Raphael (unfinished Figure 3. Saint Jerome by Leonardo Da Vinci angels in foreground) Pitti Palace, Florence (unfinished) in Vatican Museum, Rome Strategy In a professional copy there are always decisions and interpretations to be made. There are no color photographs of the Sistine Madonna in its original condition prior to WW II. Nor is much information available about its restoration. The artists (Losana and Llewellyn) believe that the top glazing layers of the painting have been removed as the surface looks quite different from other paintings by Raphael in the Uffizi in Florence. Raphael used the same model perhaps a dozen times each with rich lush paint. Thus the biggest question is whether the copy should look like the painting today or as Raphael intended it. Maestro John Michael Angel recommended that the copy should follow Raphael's intention as much as possible. Consequently Losana and Llewellyn chose a layered painting strategy following what is known of Raphael's methods. In this manner, the final decision as to its appearance was reserved to later stages. Canvas preparation The artists desired to also use traditional methods as much as possible in the selection and preparation of the canvas. However since it is not possible to have the same canvas that Raphael used, instead they decided to use the highest quality Italian linen possible (“Artemesia” linen from Zecchi Fine Art in Florence). Pigment Choices As much as possible, the artists chose modern equivalents to the pigments used by Raphael. These included lead white, genuine vermillion (light and dark), yellow ochre, and black for the skin tones. After experimenting with a number of blue pigments, it was apparent that modern pigments such as ultramarine blue and cobalt blue would be unsatisfactory. Fortunately, Sandra Zecchi of Zecchi Fine Art mentioned a small batch of genuine lapis lazuli blue that he had on hand. This pigment, ground from genuine gemstone had tiny bits of lapis lazuli grit but went on perfectly. Finally, decisions needed to be made regarding the background. The artists wished to recreate the luminous effect of Raphael’s masterpiece. However part of the luminous effect of the original is created optically by the inclusion of elements such as the green drapery and other figures that are not included in this partial copy. To compensate, the artists chose to add a bit of a modern pigment to the background, cadmium yellow deep. Figure. Building the frame 1 Figure. Building the frame 2 Figure. Sistine Madonna Gesso Figure. Sistine Madonna Campitura Figure. Sistine Madonna Check Figure. Sistine Madonna Day 1 FigureFigure. 5Grid. Sistine system Madonna and drawing Day 1 started Figure. Drawing and Underpainting of shadows Figure. Genuine Lapis Lazuli blue .