Madonna and Child (The Bridgewater Madonna)

after Raphael (Urbino 1483 – Rome 1520).. Oil painting on panel, Madonna and Child (The Bridgewater Madonna), after Raphael, 17th century. An oval square-framed painting of the Madonna and Child; the Child lying on his mother's knee, turning to look at her, as she looks down at Him, both in a particular graceful combination of poses, with an elegant twist, called a contrapposto. A version in the National Gallery, London is an old copy of 'The Bridgewater Madonna' in the Sutherland collection, on loan to the National Gallery of Scotland, bought by the Duke of Bridgewater from the Duke of Orléan's collection, of about 1507/1508. In the original painting the artist painted a landscape background but may have decided that a dark setting was a better foil for the subtle modelling of his figures in light and shadow. The painting was probably made as a devotional image for a private chamber. And it is only in the copies that the Christ Child's nakedness has been covered up by concealing drapery. Nostell Priory, West Yorkshire (Accredited Museum)