Madonna of the Pinks

Raphael (1483 - 1520)

National Gallery

circa 1507 - 1508

It shows the youthful Virgin playing with her infant son, who is seated on a cushion in her lap. The child's attention has been caught by the delicate flowers she holds, the pinks, which are symbolic of love and betrothal. The work conveys a quality of simple human pleasure in a moment of intimacy. It dates from the period when Raphael went to Florence to study the great masters of his day.

• Medium: oil on panel
• Dimensions: 29 x 23cm
• Grant Paid: £403,895 ( Total: £22,000,000; Tax Remission; Export stopped)
• ArtFunded in: 2004
• Vendor: Duke of Northumberland

Provenance

Private collection, France by 1817; Vincenzo Camuccini, Paris, circa 1828; Camuccini collection, Rome; Algernon, 4th Duke of Northumberland, 1853; by descent; on loan to the National Gallery since 1992.

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