The Sistine Madonna in the Royal Gallery at Dresden, Saxony

The Sistine Madonna in the Royal Gallery at Dresden, Saxony

The most beautiful picture in the world is the Sistine Madonna in the

Royal Gallery at Dresden, Saxony. It was painted by Raphael as an

altar-piece for a church in Piacenza, Italy. In a far corner of the

great Palace of Art it is now placed, probably to remain until the

colors shall fade. It is the only picture in the room. The figures are

of life size. When that room is entered all voices are hushed, and all

merriment silenced. The place is as holy as a church.

In the centre of the canvas is the Virgin Mother with a young, almost

girlish face or surpassing loveliness. In her eyes affection and

wonder are blended, and the features and the figure are the most

spiritual and beautiful in the world's art.

I have wondered where Raphael found that face. It is not voluptuous

like the Italian, nor heavy like the German, nor light like the

French, nor cold like the women of more northern nations. It is the

ideal woman's face for all nations and ages, and yet it is typical of

none.

In the Mother's arms is the Divine Child, with those strange,

far-away-looking eyes that casual visitors so little understand—eyes

that even in babyhood seem reading the future, and beginning to see

the greatness of the world's sorrow. Kneeling on one side, below them,

is St. Sixtus, the nearest perfect of all pictures of strong and

venerable age that was ever painted; on the other side Santa Barbara,

only less beautif...