Angel from Baronci Altarpiece

Raphael painted this angel as part of the Baronci Altarpiece in 1501, one of his earliest independent commissions executed in Perugia. The Baronci Altarpiece was damaged in an earthquake in 1789, and this angel fragment, now in the Pushkin Museum, is one of several surviving pieces that testify to the young Raphael's precocious mastery. The tempera medium required careful preparation on a gessoed panel and a disciplined layering technique that produced precise, durable surfaces suited to the intricate detail expected of devotional painting.

The fragment shows the seventeen-year-old Raphael's already remarkable facility in rendering idealized beauty, with the delicate coloring and graceful pose that would become hallmarks of his mature style, still showing the influence of his teacher Perugino.