The faces of the Madonna and child in the de Brécy Tondo match those in Raphael’s Sistine Madonna (Picture: University of Nottingham)
A painting by Renaissance master Raphael has gone on public display for the first time ever in Bradford, after it was recently found to be the work of the renowned artist.
Questions had been circulating around the artwork, known as the de Brécy Tondo, for more than four decades.
Experts have drawn attention to its clear resemblance to one of the most famous paintings of the Renaissance: Raphael’s Sistine Madonna.
The altarpiece, perhaps best known for the two young angels portrayed leaning against the bottom of the frame, is on display in the German city of Dresden.
But teams from the University of Nottingham and University of Bradford found the faces of the de Brécy Tondo were identical to the Madonna and child depicted in the more famous work.
An AI model used by the researchers found a 97% similarity between the faces of the two Madonnas, while the two children registered 86% – with any similarity of more than 75% considered identical.
Dr Christopher Brooke, an honorary research fellow at the University of Nottingham, told the BBC: ‘Direct facial comparison comes out at a match of 97% – a very high statistical probability that the artworks are by identical creators.
‘Further confirmation comes from analysis of the pigments employed in the Tondo, which have demonstrated that the painting’s characteristics are considered to be typical of Renaissance practice and therefore highly unlikely to be a later copy.’
The Sistine Madonna is famous for the two iconic angels, or ‘putti’, at the bottom of the image (Picture: Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
Raphael died aged 37 on Good Friday, April 20 1520 (Picture: Print Collector/Getty Images)
The painting is now on display at Cartwright Hall Art Gallery in the West Yorkshire city, where it will remain for two months.
The de Brécy Tondo takes its name from the de Brécy Trust Collection of paintings and drawings, which was set up by Cheshire businessman George Lester Winward and named after his French ancestors.
A ‘tondo’ is a Renaissance term for a circular work of art.
Who was Raphael?
Born in 1483, Raffaello Sanzio – known in English as Raphael – is considered one of the three great artistic geniuses of the Renaissance alongside Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci.
His best-known work is The School of Athens, which depicts a group of notable figures from Ancient Greece. It’s located in a section of the Pope’s residence in the Vatican named the Raphael Rooms, and a copy can be found in London’s V&A Museum.
In a demonstration of the high regard in which he was held, his body was interred at one of the most famous sites in Rome: the Pantheon.
Councillor Sarah Ferriby, Bradford Council’s executive member for healthy people and places, said: ‘It is fitting that Bradford has been chosen for this honour, especially in the run up to the district being UK City of Culture in 2025.
‘I hope as many people as possible take this opportunity to visit Cartwright Hall to view this and the many other great works of art we have on display including work by Bradford artist David Hockney.’
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Researchers recently discovered the de Brécy Tondo was almost certainly painted by Renaissance master Raphael.
