Christian Art · Renaissance · The Life of Christ
The Sistine Madonna
“Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” — Isaiah 7:14 (KJV)
About
Raphael's Sistine Madonna (1512) opens a green curtain onto heaven: Mary walks forward on clouds carrying Christ, Saint Sixtus kneels pointing out at us, Saint Barbara looks down, and below, two little angels lean on the sill, daydreaming — the most copied angels in art.
The Meaning
The picture is a doorway: the Madonna does not pose, she advances — presenting the child to the church and world. Sixtus's pointing hand aims her errand at the viewer: she has come for you.
For Us Today
Bring your daydreams to the altar rail. The famous cherubs teach that even wandering attention, brought to the right place, can be gathered into worship — fix your eyes where Sixtus points: on Christ presented to the world.
Image: Public domain · via Wikimedia Commons — the file’s page. Tap the picture to open the full-size original there.