Raphael painted his Marriage of the Virgin in 1504 as an altarpiece, dedicated to the Virgin Mary. While it’s function was to enhance the atmosphere of  a chapel, the  painting is also notable because of its distinctive portrayal of The Madonna. Raphael chose to portray Mary, in this painting, not as a goddess to be worshipped, but rather as a woman to be admired. Indeed, it is her gentleness and subtlety that Raphael chooses to emphasize. She is smiling, but ever so slightly. She is modest, looking downward, rather than up at anyone. She is beautiful, but she has no pride. It is her quietness that Raphael seems to celebrate (Louden, 1968).

In The Marriage, Raphael does not depict the Madonna as simply a mother. She is also a woman admired by many. We see evidence of this in the way Raphael sets up his scene. While the temple is at the center of The Marriage, the people are the real focus of the painting. In front of the temple, a Rabbi guides Joseph in the act of placing a ring on a Mary’s finger. The three are surrounded by both men (on the right) and women (on the left). The men all carry rods. The groom’s rod bears a blossom, while the rods of the other men are barren. The other men, save perhaps one, are frowning. Some are breaking their rods. This, according to legend, is because the men are frustrated suitors – admirers of Mary, but not chosen to wed her.

The Marriage was a very significant piece in its time. According to Tom Henry, The Marriage was first acquired by the Albizzini family, who had acquired a chapel in CittA di Castello. Albizzini dedicated the temple to St. Joseph. Henry relates that at the time of the dedication, another chapel dedicated to St. Joseph had acquired a ring that was said to be the ring Joseph had used to wed Mary. He indicates that there was a “cult of Joseph” which he believes Albizzini wished to be a part of. It was for this reason that he acquired Raphael’s painting.  The painting, then, most likely helped fuel a belief in relics and specifically in those of the cult of S. Joseph.  (Henry, 2002).

The painting is also striking now. Nothing in the bible mentions anything about unhappy suitors at Mary and Joseph’s wedding. One wonders, then, where Raphael and those who painted similar scenes before him came up with the idea. The contrast between Joseph’s staff and the staffs of the other men is also intriguing. There is no mention of such an occurrence in the bible. One blossoming staff is, however, mentioned. It is the staff of Aaron, which blossomed when God chose the tribe of Levi as his priesthood (Numbers 17:8). Grant Allen notes that legend says that Joseph’s staff blossomed because he too was “the chosen one.” (Allen, 1901)

The fact that Raphael chose to paint ideas from Christian legend, rather than simply biblical messages says something about the liberty those in authority took with biblical interpretation. The painting, therefore, gives its modern day viewer not only a visual representation of biblical stories, but also of the religious legends that occupied the minds of those alive in the 1500s.  Yet, the most fascinating facet of the painting is the way in which Raphael portrays The Madonna. In other paintings, she is made to look slightly heavy and matronly. She often holds a child while she sits down.

In this painting, she holds no child, she is thin and she stands upright. What might be strange to a modern audience is that a woman dressed so modestly, with nothing more than her neck, head and hands uncovered, would be so appealing to so many suitors. It does not resonate well with the modern view of the attractive woman, yet, during Raphael’s time it did not seem unbelievable.

Raphael’s The Marriage of the Virgin is an intriguing work, both in terms of its historical significance and in terms of modern understanding. It is a piece of legend, beauty and inspiration that has fascinated viewers for over five-hundred years.