balances his use of strong reds, blues, yellows and greens and he creates subtle contrast in his flesh tones, best seen with the living Mary Magdalene's holding of the dead Christ's hand. The Altarpiece As stated above, the altarpiece consisted of more than just the main panel. The top molding (now in the Galleria Nazionale dell’Umbria in Perugia) had a panel of "God the Father in a glory of cherubim, blessing his son." The main panel itself had a frame, parts of which still survive, decorated by griffins' being crowned and fed by winged putti seated on rams’ heads, all of a yellow-bronze color against a blue ground (the Baglioni family crest was a griffin's head, as well as the name of Atalanta's husband and son being Grifonetto). Below there was a predella of three grisaille (monochrome) compartments illustrating the Theological Virtues (1507. Oil on panel, three sections of 18 x 44 cm each. Rome, Vatican Gallery). The three panels were originally lined up at the base of the altarpiece to show, left to right, Hope, Charity, and Faith, with each figure flanked by two putti. The subjects of the predellas are meant to relate symbolically to the main panel above: Charity in the center emphasizes the theme of motherhood, while Hope and Faith refer to the principle motif, Christ's redemption. Thus Raphael's conception not only refers to the theme of the altarpiece, but also to the private circumstances of the donor, Atalanta Baglioni. Paintings influenced by Raphael's deposition See also List of paintings by Raphael Notes References Further reading "Raphael's Altar-Pieces in S. Francesco al Prato, Perugia: Patronage, Setting and Function", Donal Cooper, The Burlington Magazine, Vol. 143, No. 1182 (Sep., 2001), pp. 554–561 External links Paintings by Raphael 1507 paintings Paintings in the Borghese Collection Raphael Raphael Paintings of the Virgin Mary Paintings depicting Mary Magdalene Altarpieces