Italian school After RAFAEL DE SANZIO ; XVIII century.

Italian School After RAFAEL DE SANZIO ; XVIII century.
"St. Cecilia surrounded by St. Paul and Mary Magdalene".
Bronze.
Measurements: 21 x 14 x 0,5 cm.
This bronze piece, made by the Italian school of the 18th century, is a sculptural interpretation of the famous painting "Santa Cecilia" by Raphael de Sanzio (1514-1517), preserved in the Pinacoteca Nazionale in Bologna. The relief translates with remarkable sensitivity and technical expertise the Renaissance spirit of the pictorial original into the three-dimensional language of metal, preserving both the compositional arrangement and the spiritual character of the characters depicted.
Saint Cecilia, patron saint of music, occupies the center of the scene with her usual iconography: an elevated gaze and an ecstatic expression, in a state of mystical contemplation. At her side, St. Paul, identifiable by the sword and the book, and Mary Magdalene, with her characteristic loose hair and expression of recollection. The harmony of the composition and the pyramidal arrangement evoke the classical structure of the Renaissance, carefully preserved by the artist of the relief.
The technical quality of the bronze work is outstanding. The meticulous modeling allows a delicate transition between planes, generating an almost pictorial effect through the treatment of light and shadow on the metal surface. The artist has achieved a high degree of detail, especially in the faces, folds of the vestments and iconographic attributes. The surface of the bronze has a uniform patina, probably original, which visually enriches the depth of the relief without hindering the formal reading of the figures.
The choice of bronze as a medium underlines the intention of permanence and solemnity typical of devotional art, while the fidelity to Raphael's design demonstrates the value that 18th century artists attributed to the great masters of the High Renaissance, whose works were reinterpreted not only as an aesthetic model, but also as an object of cultural veneration.
In short, this relief is a refined example of the survival of the Renaissance ideal in the religious art of the 18th century, where the virtuoso technique of casting and chiseling is placed at the service of a classical iconography and a composition charged with serenity and spiritual balance.