FREE ESSAY ON MADONNA AND CHILD BY RAPHAEL AND BELLINI

MADONNA AND CHILD BY RAPHAEL AND BELLINI

The subject matter of Maddona and Child was a very popular one for artists of the
sixteenth century. Rapahel, and Giovanni Bellini both painted numerous versions of the
Maddona and Child. While both of the artists viewed the subject as a religious and highly
emotional expression, their portrayal of many other aspects differed greatly. While
Raphael portrayed what seems to be a loving, warm relationship between mother and child,
a lifelike Christ child, and serenity within his paintings, Bellini portrayed a
relationship that seems distant relationship between mother and child, a deathlike image
of the Christ child and a sense of depression and uneasiness within his works.
Differences between the views of the artists on the portrayal of Maddona and Child can
clearly be seen through the artists' use of colour, backgrounds in which the figures are
placed, the poses of the figures and their relationships to one another. These can all be
seen in many of the works by Bellini and Raphael, specifically, The Small Cowper Madonna,
and Maddona Del Granduca by Raphael and Greek Madonna and Madonna of the Meadow by
Bellini.
The subject of Maddona and Child is one that is highly emotional. Raphael and Bellini
portray the Virgin and Child in two very different emotional states. Raphael, in his
paintings, The Small Cowper Madonna and Madonna Del Granduca, illustrates a very intense
feeling of love between the Virgin and Child and a feeling of content with the love that
the mother and child share. In both The Small Cowper Madonna and Madonna Del Granduca,
the Virgin is looking at her son with an expression that seems very tranquil. She is
almost smiling yet at the same time praying, in The Small Cowper Madonna. She seems to be
totally engrossed with her child, (Web Museum). At the same time, the Child seems totally
comfortable with this mother. He looks out at the viewer with a visionary, yet amiable
gaze, showing his carefree, comfortable state of mind, as any happy toddler would have
(Web Museum). In both The Small Cowper Madonna and Madonna Del Granduca, the Virgin holds
her child very close to her body and the Child holds onto his mother in return. The two
figures seem totally at ease with one and other. 
Bellini's depiction, on the other hand, is a very different one from Raphael's. Bellini,
in his Madonna of the Meadows and Greek Madona, shows a mother who does not seem to be
very blithe. In Madonna of the Meadows, the Virgin seems to be praying. The expression on
her face seems to be one of discontent, perhaps even concern. Her eyes do not seem to be
focused on her child. The distance between the Virgin and Child is expressed even more
strongly in Greek Madonna. The Virgin has a despondent look on her face. She is looking
in the direction of her child but almost seems to be looking through him. In both
paintings, the Virgin does not hold her child close to her body as a mother would
naturally do to her child, rather she is just close enough to his body that she could
support it. In Madonna of the Meadow, the Child's body lays on his mother's skirt, while
the Virgin has no contact with him at all; her hands do not support the Child and the
Child does not grab onto his mother. In The Greek Madonna, though the Virgin does hold
her child, she does not cradle him in a loving way, rather, she supports his body, though
he does not touch her in any way. The relationship between the Virgin and Child depicted
by Bellini in the two paintings portrays a peculiar and subtle tension that binds the
Virgin and Child (Oliviari, page 4).
Aside from their different expressions of emotions in their works on Madonna and Child ,
Bellini and Raphael also differ in their depiction of the Christ-child. Raphael portrays
a animated child. In Raphael's Small Cowper Madonna and in his Madonna Del Granduca, the
Christ-child is depicted as a chubby baby with rosy cheeks and wide eyes, the way most
healthy children appear. In both paintings, the Child has turned his head, and has linked
his arms around his mother, giving an image of movement in the child. His gesture is a
very natural one; each body part looks comfortable and well supported. The vision
portrayed can be comprable to any portrait of a child of his age. The depiction does not
foreshadow any tragedy for the future.
Bellini depicts the Christ-child in a very different way than Raphael. In Madonna of the
Meadow and Greek Madonna the Child is portrayed in a most lethargic manner. In Madonna of
the Meadow, the child lies in the virgin's lap, rigid and motionless. His right arm holds
his heart in a way that can be reminding of a heart attack victims grabbing onto his
heart as he dies. The Child's eyes are closed and the expression on his face is blank. He
has very little colour in his cheeks, as he lacks the same colour over the rest of his
body. His head tilted to one side looks almost as though it is falling. In Greek Madonna,
the Child looks as though he is falling and only the arms of the Virgin support him. His
facial expression is a troubled one. His arms hang limp, though he does grasp an apple in
his right hand, and his legs do not seem to support him. His head, like in Madonna of the
Meadows if falling to one side, as if he cannot support it. His body is thin and
elongated, appearing longer than most children would. Perhaps the distinction which could
be made between Bellini's works and Raphael's works is the level of passiveness which the
Child is portraying. Bellini's paintings of the Child foretell the tragic future for
which the Christ-child will live to experience.