On-line gallery
- Reference number
- P00297
- Author
- Raphael (Italian)
- Title
- The Holy Family with Raphael, Tobias and Saint Jerome, or the Virgin with a Fish
- Chronology
- 1513-1514
- Technique
- Support
- Measures
- 215 cm x 158 cm
- School
- Theme
- Shown
- Yes
- Entrance
- COLECCIONREAL
- Procedence
- Royal Collection
Seated on a throne, the Virgin
holds the Christ Child in her lap.
On the right, Saint Jerome dressed
as a Cardinal reads the Vulgata
(The Bible he, himself, translated
into Latin). The Archangel Raphael,
with the lion that symbolizes him,
stands with Tobias, who holds the
fish with which he will cure his
father's blindness.
This work is known as The Virgin
with a Fish, and was commissioned
by Geronimo del Doce for the chapel
of Saint Rosalie at the Monastery
of San Domenico in Naples.
The use of color and the masterful
composition whose apparent
simplicity hides complex
triangular, rectangular and
diagonal forms, recall the Stanza
d'Heliodoro painted by Raphael at
the Vatican.
There are preparatory drawings for
the present work at the Galleria
degli Uffizi in Florence, and at
the National Gallery of Scotland in
Edimburgh.
The Viceroy of Naples acquired this
work for Felipe IV (1605-1665) and,
after a brief period in the chapel
of Madrid's Alcázar Palace, it
entered the Monastery of El
Escorial in 1645. From there, it
entered the Prado Museum
Collection.
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