Raphael, the great Italian painter, graphic artist and architect, lived a short life. “The Beautiful Gardener” (“Madonna and Child with St. John the Baptist in the background of a landscape”) was written by an already established master.

The lovely image of the Virgin Mary breathes calmness and peace. The figures of the young Mother of God, Her beautiful Child and little John the Baptist are very organic and seem to dissolve in the landscape. The details of the landscape, lovingly painted by the master – and plants, and distant mountains, and city walls – attract the viewer’s attention. Spiritual and physical beauty is embodied in the guise of the Mother of God, whose wondrous face glows with infinite love for the Son. In His pure eyes one can read a deep mutual feeling, merged with childish devotion to the Mother.