Raffaello (1483-1520)
Madonna di Loreto, Madonna del Velo (Madonna of Loreto, Madonna of the Veil)
c.1509–1512
Oil on poplar panel, 120 x 90 cm
Musée Condé, Chantilly
This painting was only identified as an original by Raphael in 1976; the Duke of Aumale had bought it with the collection of his uncle and father-in-law the Prince of Salerno as a copy of a lost original by Raphael. The Madonna of Loreto was painted by the artist for the church of Santa Maria del Popolo in Rome, undoubtedly at the request of Pope Julius II, whose portrait also appeared in the church. The two works are mentioned there by Vasari in 1550 and 1568; the Madonna is engraved three times in 1553, 1572 and 1575, the 1572 engraving mentioning the painting in the church. In 1591 the painting became part of the collections of Cardinal Sfondrato who allegedly misappropriated it and gave alms to calm the discontent. In 1608 his collection was acquired by Cardinal Scipio Borghese, who died in 1633. The Borghese inventory of 1693 cites The Madonna of Loreto under number 133 and the Portrait of Julius II (London, National Gallery) under number 118, numbers which correspond to those painted on the face of the paintings. In 1802 the Borghese sold their collection, the King of Naples acquired the painting which thus entered the collection of the Prince of Salerno. The painting was identified in 1976 thanks to the inventory numbers of the Borghese collection by Cecil Gould, curator of the National Gallery in London, who, working on the pendant, was able to establish the history of the two works. The painting then underwent scientific analyzes which showed that it was indeed an original by Raphael and a restoration which highlighted its pictorial qualities, until then hidden under thick yellowed varnish (a small witness of the state before restoration has been preserved at the bottom left). The name Loreto comes from a copy of the painting by Raphael which was in the 18th century in the church of Loreto in Italy. The iconography shows a profane game between a mother who hands her veil to her child, but the veil also symbolizes the shroud and therefore the Passion of Christ. (Musée Condé)