Raphael established his exceptional career with the Madonna paintings he created as a young master in Florence. This equally monumental and particularly emotive depiction sensualises the mystery of the incarnation of God and hints at the master's great achievements later in Rome. The subtle painterly composition lends the tender proximity of mother and child a unique vitality and the pictorial space its atmospheric depth. Ludwig I negotiated with the Marquess of Tempi for some twenty years and paid a large sum to be able to acquire this work for Munich.