SANTI, Giovanni
(b. ca. 1435, Colbordolo, d. 1494, Urbino)

Virgin and Child

1480s
Egg tempera and oil on panel, 68 x 49 cm
National Gallery, London

Giovanni Santi, the father of Raphael, moved in the orbit of the sophisticated court of Urbino. A respectable corpus of works survives by him. The Virgin and Child in London is one of his characteristic paintings. This painting displays flesh tones composed with a pronounced use of lead white pigment, producing an opaque effect nearly identical to that visible in Raphael's early paintings.