Sistine Madonna

An altarpiece for a monastery church

Raphael painted the Sistine Madonna around 1512 to 1513 for the church of San Sisto in Piacenza, in northern Italy. It was commissioned by Pope Julius II. The name comes from Saint Sixtus, who appears in the painting.

In 1754 the monks sold it to Augustus III, Elector of Saxony and King of Poland. It has been in Dresden ever since and is now in the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister.

Mary walks towards us on clouds

Mary steps forward on a bank of clouds, holding the Christ child in her arms. Both look straight out at the viewer, with serious, almost anxious expressions. She seems to be coming down to meet us.

Green curtains, drawn back at the top, make the scene feel like a vision revealed on a stage.

Saint Sixtus and Saint Barbara

At the left kneels Pope Sixtus II, an early Christian martyr, in a gold cope. He looks up at Mary and points out towards us, as if presenting the faithful. His papal tiara rests on the ledge at the bottom.

At the right kneels Saint Barbara, looking down, with a small tower behind her, her usual attribute. The two saints frame Mary in a triangle.

Two famous little angels

At the bottom, two winged putti lean on the ledge, chins on their hands, gazing upward with bored or dreamy expressions. They have become some of the most reproduced figures in art, on postcards, posters and countless objects.

Raphael in Rome

Raphael came to Rome around 1508, invited by Pope Julius II, and quickly became one of the most celebrated painters of the city. He decorated the papal apartments in the Vatican with frescoes such as The School of Athens, while Michelangelo was painting the Sistine ceiling nearby. The Sistine Madonna was painted at the height of his fame, when he was about thirty.

The pope probably commissioned it in gratitude to Piacenza, which had joined the Papal States in 1512.

A vision behind a curtain

Green curtains are drawn back at the top, as if revealing a vision. Mary steps forward on a bank of clouds, carrying the Christ child, as if walking towards the viewer. The background is filled with countless faint faces of cherubs in the clouds. Saint Sixtus, at the left, points out towards us; Saint Barbara, at the right, looks down. The effect is of a sacred apparition in front of our eyes.

The most famous cherubs

At the bottom of the painting, two small winged cherubs lean on a ledge, looking up with bored or dreamy expressions. They have become some of the most reproduced images in art, appearing on postcards, mugs, stamps and posters. Many people know them without knowing the painting they come from.

According to one legend, Raphael saw two children looking into a bakery window and painted them. The story is charming but unsupported.

Dresden’s treasure

Augustus III, Elector of Saxony and King of Poland, bought the painting in 1754 for a huge sum. Its arrival in Dresden caused a sensation. Writers and philosophers, including Goethe, Schopenhauer and Dostoevsky, admired it. Dostoevsky kept a reproduction in his study. During the Second World War, the painting was hidden in a tunnel, then taken to Moscow by Soviet troops. It was returned to Dresden in 1955.

Where to see it

The Sistine Madonna hangs in the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister in Dresden. Our hand-painted oil reproduction follows this composition. You can also read about Raphael’s Transfiguration, or explore our top 100 most famous paintings.

Questions about the Sistine Madonna

Why is it called Sistine?

After Saint Sixtus, who kneels at the left, and the church of San Sisto in Piacenza.

Where is the original?

Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Dresden.

Who are the two angels?

Two putti at the bottom edge, now famous on their own.

How large is it?

About 265 × 196 centimetres, oil on canvas.

Why are the cherubs so famous?

They have been reproduced endlessly on postcards, stamps and posters.

Was the painting taken during the war?

Yes. Soviet troops took it to Moscow in 1945; it returned to Dresden in 1955.

Sources and image credit

• Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden: Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister
• Wikimedia Commons: Sistine Madonna

Faithful public-domain reproduction of the Sistine Madonna (about 1512 to 1513), via Wikimedia Commons. Detail images are crops of the same historical painting; no reconstruction or upscaling.