Angel Holding a Phylactery

Raphael painted this Angel Holding a Phylactery around 1500, now in the Louvre, during his early training period in Umbria under Perugino's influence. The angel holding a scroll with text was a standard devotional image type appearing on altarpiece wings or as independent votive images. Even in this early work, Raphael's characteristic grace of figure drawing and compositional clarity are already apparent. The Louvre's acquisition of this early Raphael reflects the French museum's comprehensive ambition to represent all periods of Italian Renaissance art. The phylactery's text would have carried a specific scriptural or devotional inscription appropriate to its original liturgical or chapel context.

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.