On-line gallery
- Reference number
- P00300
- Author
- Raphael (Italian)
- Title
- The Visitation
- Chronology
- Ca. 1517
- Technique
- Support
- Measures
- 200 cm x 145 cm
- School
- Theme
- Shown
- Yes
- Entrance
- COLECCION REAL
- Procedence
- Royal Collection
The Virgin Mary visits her cousin,
Elisabeth, who is pregnant with
Saint John, as told in the New
Testament (Luke 1, 39-45). That is
the moment when the Virgin sings
the Magnificat.
The two figures can be told apart
by their age. Mary is depicted as a
young woman while Elizabeth, on the
left, is almost an old woman, which
emphasizes the miracle of her
pregnancy, as the Bible texts have
it. The scene takes place in a
landscape and in the background we
can see an event which would take
place years later: Jesus being
baptized by Saint John in the
Jordan River. This work was drawn
by Raphael, who was paid 300
escudos. He then had the painting
done by one of his assistants,
though it is not clear which one.
Among those named are: Giulio
Romano, Giovan Francesco Penni and
Perino del Vaga.
This painting was commissioned by
Giovanni Branconio, the Apostolic
Protonotary, at the behest of his
father, Marino Branconio, for the
family chapel at the church of San
Silvestre de Aquila. Marino's
choice of subject matter was
undoubtedly guided by the fact that
his wife was named Elizabeth and
his son, John.
In 1655, this work was acquired by
Felipe IV (1605-1665), who
deposited it at El Escorial. It
entered the Prado Museum in 1837.
Location on the map
