Angel

Raphael painted this Angel around 1500, now at the Tosio Martinengo Gallery in Brescia, one wing of a small altarpiece known as the Città di Castello Altarpiece from the period of his Umbrian training. The companion Angel Holding a Phylactery is in the Louvre. These two panels show Raphael's gift for the graceful, spirited angel type that Perugino had perfected — celestial beings who are simultaneously otherworldly and physically real. Though barely seventeen, Raphael was already demonstrating the facility and sureness of execution that would allow him to complete an altarpiece independently in these Umbrian years. The Brescia and Paris locations of the two panels reflect how altar ensembles were frequently dismembered in the art market.

Oil on panel with Raphael's characteristic balance of form, luminous coloring, and compositional harmony. The work demonstrates the artistic qualities characteristic of Raphael's mature period.