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Raffael (Raffaello Santi) Urbino 1483-1520 Rom Die Sixtinische Madonna. 1512/13 Ol auf Leinwand: 269,5x201 cm Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister. Gal Nr 93 © Staatliche Kunstsammlunge Dresden, Gemaldegalerie Alte Meister.Foto: Estel/Klut

Raphael's Sixtine Madonna turns 500

Five hundred years ago Raphael, the great master painter of the Renaissance, was commissioned by Pope Julius II to paint the Sistine Madonna. Today, it is one of the most famous works of art in the world. It belongs to the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister in Dresden (Germany); even those who are unaware of this fact are at least familiar with the two angels that perch cutely at the lower edge of the painting and have been copied countless times.

To mark the 500th birthday of this altarpiece, the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden will be holding a major anniversary exhibition. The five hundred years of the Sistine Madonna have been characterized by exciting stories involving secret negotiations and illustrious display, periods of obscurity and international acclaim, artistic inventiveness, and abysmal kitsch.

Divided in four sections, the exhibition will shed light on the art and cultural historic context as well as on the reception history of this masterpiece

See more works by Raphael in our section of Great Masters

Date: from May 26 to August 26.
Place: Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden. Residenzchloss Taschenberg 2. 01067. Dresden. Germany.
Opening hours: Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 10am to 6pm. Thursday and Saturday from 10am to 9pm.

Enjoy more works of the exhibition in the following slideshow:

France
Retrato de Arlete Boucard, por Tamara de Lempicka, 1928

Tamara de Lempicka, the artist as femme fatale

Until September 8th, 2013

United Kingdom

Summer arrives to the Royal Academy

From June 10th to August 18th

Italy
Lara Almárcequi, Venice Biennale

Art (and Biennale) in Venice

Until Novemberl 24th

Holland
Autorretrato como artista,  por Van Gogh, 1887, Museo Van Gogh, Ámsterdam.

Van Gogh: radiograph of an innovator

Until January 12th, 2014

USA
Rain Room, by Random International, 2012

Instructions for controlling the rain

Until July 28th, 2013

Spain
Autorretrato, por Dennis Hopper, 1963, Los Angeles.The Dennis Hopper Art Trust

Through the lens of Dennis Hopper

Until September 29th 2013

Spain

Dalí: All his faces

From April 27th to September 2nd, 2013

México

Retrospective devoted to Rafael Coronel

from September 21 to January 13

Germany

Frank Stella. The Retrospective. Works 1958-2012

from September 8 to January 20

Spain

Zaha Hadid at Ivorypress

from September 4 to November 3

United Kingdom

Renaissance to Goya: Prints and drawings from Spain

from September 20 to January 6

Germany

Olympia: Myth - Cult - Games

through January 7

Sweden

Picasso, enemy of Duchamp

through March 3

Germany

Dark Romanticism. From Goya to Max Ernst

from September 26 to January 20

The Netherlands

'The Last Supper' (pink) by Andy Warhol

from October 6 to November 11

Australia

The Museo del Prado in Australia

until November 4

Spain

Antoni Tàpies. Head arms legs body

through November 4

Spain

William Blake. Visions in British Art

through October 21

Spain

The Mexican suitcase at the Fine Arts Circle in Madrid

from July 19 to September 30.

Spain

Luis Claramunt. The Vertical Journey

from July 13 to October 21

Spain

Picasso viewed by Otero

until September 23

United Kingdom

Van Gogh to Kandinsky: Symbolist Landscape in Europe 1880-1910

from July 14 to October 14.

United Kingdom

Metamorphosis: Titian 2012

from July 11 to September 23

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