Madonna of the Candelabra by Raphael

The Christmas stamp for 2011 features a detail from a work by the Italian master Raphael, entitled Madonna of the Candelabra. This tondo (circular painting), oil on panel, dates to around 1513 and is now in the collection of the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

The Virgin and Child project the grace and serenity typical of Raphael’s work. As a recognized master, Raphael ran a large and active workshop. Assistants certainly painted the angels (not shown on the stamp) flanking the central figures of Mary and the infant Jesus, and possibly other parts.

The stamp art is a detail of the painting, as the original photograph was cropped to fit the stamp format.

Madonna of the Candelabra by Raphael is being issued as a Forever® stamp. Forever stamps are always equal in value to the current First-Class Mail one-ounce rate.