The reference is to the Sistine Madonna by Raphael, Virgin and Child with St. Sixtus (Sisto) and St. Barbara, commissioned by Pope Julius II in 1512 for the Church of St. Sixtus in Piacenza and completed by 1515. In its form it owes as much to Raphael's classical image of Galatea as to the traditional medieval iconography of the Virgin. This footnote, which appears only in editions two, three, and four, presents this, together with the work of Michelangelo, as an example of perfection in art (cf. Vasari, Le Vite, Testo III.6 'perfetta regola dell'arte'), and similarly in manuscript notes for Modern Painters II (quoted in a note at Works, 4.369) it provides a 'standard of beauty'.
The painting is one to which Ruskin returns because of its 'perfection'. In the published version of Modern Painters II it is an example of the 'clear and tasteless poison' which 'infects with the sleep of infidelity the hearts of millions of Christians' ( Works, 5.83). It is a substitute for genuine religion: 'The Young lady who rises in the middle of the day, jaded by her last night's ball, utterly incapable of any simple or wholesome religious exercise, can still gaze into the dark eyes of the Madonna di St. Sisto. ( Works, 5.84)’
In The Stones of Venice it is presented as an example of the lack of concern for truth by the artists of the renaissance:' Carefully regarded, and by intelligent persons, they instantly divert the mind from their subject to their art, so that admiration takes the place of devotion.' ( Works, 10.131)
The painting is in the Dresden Gallery, and Ruskin did not see it until 1859, though he did remark then that it had been faultlessly engraved ( Works, 19.13).
Raffaello Santi 1483-1520
The Madonna standing on Clouds with SS. Sixtus and Barbara c.1512-14
Oil on canvas, 265x196cm
Collection: Dresden Gallery
For a reproduction of this artistic work, please consult: Buck, S., Hohenstatt, P., Raphael, (Könemann, 1998), p.81 or alternatively www.abcgallery.com/R/raphael/raphael44.html