Prince Albert and Raphael
The Raphael Collection is one of Prince Albert's lasting legacies
JOHANN MICHAEL WITTMER (1802-80)
Raphael's First Sketch of the 'Madonna della Sedia'
Signed and dated 1853Oil on canvas | 98.3 x 74.6 cm (support, canvas/panel/str external) | RCIN 403635
Albert purchased this painting, which depicts a supposed scene from the life of Raphael, in the year it was executed. He already owned a watercolour copy of the Madonna della Sedia by Robert Thorburn given to him by Victoria in 1851. Both the direct copy of the painting and this evocation of its creation were hung by the Prince at Osborne.