Raphael
The Small Cowper Madonna
Raphael’s ‘Small Cowper Madonna’ on view at Worcester From January 24 through September 27, 2015, the Worcester Art Museum (WAM) will exhibit Raphael’s ‘The Small Cowper Madonna’, considered to be one of the most significant Renaissance paintings in America.]]>
January 23, 2015, source: Worcester Art Museum
The painting, on loan from Washington’s National Gallery of Art, will be exhibited with a work from WAM’s collection, whose attribution has long been disputed without clear consensus on its relationship to the Renaissance master. The Small Cowper Madonna was painted when Raphael traveled from Urbino to Florence and commences his highly influential series of Madonnas that secured his esteemed reputation.
In a focused installation, viewers will be able to compare the stylistic treatment of this work with the “Northbrook Madonna”, which originally entered WAM’s collection in 1940 as a Raphael, a designation that has since been discarded. The display will explore the development of Raphael’s early style and its influence among the artist community in Central Italy.
Founded in 1898, the Worcester Art Museum serves Worcester and the broader region. The Museum houses an encyclopedic collection of paintings, sculpture, decorative arts, photography, prints, drawings, and new media. WAM’s collection has historically been strongest in European Renaissance paintings, but with recent acquisitions and donations, like Veronese’s “Venus Disarming Cupid” and the integration of the collection from the Higgins Armory Museum, it continues to diversify and expand its curatorial and programmatic offerings. Symbolized by the opening of the Salisbury Street doors in 2012, the Museum continues toward its goal of accessibility for all visitors.
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Städel Museum acquires Raphael’s portrait of Pope Julius II (news, December 2011)
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