I recently happened to visit the Raphael Credit Suisse Exhibition at the National gallery as I’m a bit of a fanatic about art exhibitions and have previously visited Durer’s exhibition at the National Gallery, as well as exhibitions at the Tate Britain so was quite eager to visit Raphael’s exhibition. In this article, I will include a review of a few of his artworks which I preferred the most.

I was not sure what I expected but I was quite pleasantly surprised as upon walking into the room, I was greeted by a colossal, religious masterpiece of the Christ upon a cross. The Christ, clad in a red robe covering the lower half of his body, was accompanied by two, seemingly symmetrical angels with black wings- one dressed in flowing, teal dress and the other a replica however in a peach dress. At the bottom left and right of the painting, the kneeling figures of John the Evangelist and the Virgin Mary can be seen with Mary Magdalene and Francis of Assisi standing upright. This artwork is titled the ‘Mond crucifixion’ and is an oil on poplar panel and was part of a series of 3 other panels, of which three currently exist- one located in the National Gallery (see below), one at the Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga in Portugal and one inthe North Carolina museum of art.

Another of his artworks that I found myself fascinated by, yet again of a religious theme which seems to be consistent through all his artworks, was ‘The Tempi Madonna’ which shows the Virgin Mary pressing her cheek against Christ’s face and holding his back while looking at him with maternal love. This beautiful painting was created in 1508 for the Tempi family and the medium was oil on wood. The skin of the Christ and Madonna looks almost porcelain with a gentle blush adorning the Christ’s and the Virgin’s cheeks. This blush is complimented by the same delicate hue of pink and a darker teal in the Virgin’s dress and robe. Overall, this was my favourite painting out of Raphael’s exhibition due to the beautiful depiction of maternal love and the extensive detail in the Virgin’s dress.

In conclusion, I thoroughly enjoyed this exhibition and was enamoured by Raphael’s magnificent paintings.