La Vierge à la chaise (Raphael)
Also known as: Vierge à la chaise, La Vierge à la Chaise, sa vierge à la chaise, Madonna della seggiola, Madonna della sedia, Madonna of the Chair
Overview
The Madonna della Seggiola ("Madonna of the Chair") is a round oil painting on panel, 71 cm in diameter, by Raphael, executed c. 1513-14 in his Roman period and housed in the Palazzo Pitti, Florence. It shows Mary embracing the Christ Child while seated in a chair, with the young John the Baptist watching. Who commissioned it is unknown; it has been in the Medici collections since the 16th century. It was one of the most admired and copied of Raphael's Madonnas, often praised as the most human, "realistic mother and child". (Source: Wikipedia, "Madonna della Seggiola".) Popular legend tells that Raphael painted it on the top of a wine barrel, a story Marie repeats. The legend is not documented here.
Marie and this work
Marie is a consistent sceptic of this picture:
- 1875-09-14 (043.0163, Florence): "en confidence": "la Vierge à la Chaise de Raphaël ne me plaît pas. La figure de la Vierge est fade, le teint pas naturel, l'expression est plutôt d'une femme de chambre que de la Sainte Vierge", written in Florence, where the picture hangs.
- 1879-03-09 (084.0440, Paris): musing on artists' fussy tools, she grants that Raphael, "subitement inspiré", drew "sur un fond de tonneau sa vierge à la chaise", but surely finished it with his favourite tools.
- 1883-08-07 (100.0548): "Cette vierge est ordinaire et cet enfant... Au fait il faudrait revoir ce qu'il a en Italie. Le souvenir que j'en ai gardé n'est pas favorable.. La Vierge à la chaise est un type de jolie femme de chambre italienne bien délicate." She sees more divinity in Michelangelo. The "vierge" she is looking at on 7 August 1883 is probably a reproduction or another Madonna, and she then returns to the Pitti picture from memory.
Her view of Raphael in general is in Raphael, and she praises The School of Athens in contrast (see The School of Athens).