What is the beauty of Raphael's Madonna on the Grass?
It is beautiful and moving; The characters in the picture are amazing. The virgin looked down at the two children with unforgettable expressions. However, if we look at Raphael's sketches for this painting, we will begin to realize that this is not where he spends the most energy. In his mind, of course, these places should be painted like this. He made repeated efforts to pursue it because of the proper balance between the characters and the proper relationship that made the whole picture extremely harmonious. In the sketch in the left corner, he wants El Nino to go away and look back at his mother. In order to echo the baby's activities, he tried to draw several different postures of the mother's head. Then he decided to turn El Nino around and look up at his mother. He tried another method, this time with little St. John, but turned the baby's face away from the painting and drew the baby's head in several different positions. There are several pages in his sketch book, and he repeatedly explores how to best balance the three roles. However, if we look back at the final draft now, we will find that he did draw properly in the end. Everything in the picture has its place. Raphael's attitude and harmony finally obtained through his efforts are so natural and effortless that they hardly attract our attention. It is this harmony that makes the Virgin more beautiful and the children more lovely.