The Madonna della Seggiola or The Madonna della Sedia (28" in diameter (71 cm)) is an oil on panel Madonna painting by the High Italian Renaissance artist Raphael, executed c. 1513–1514, and housed at the Palazzo Pitti Collection in Florence, Italy. Although there is documentation on its arrival to its current location, Palazzo Pitti, it is still unknown who commissioned the painting; however, it has been in the Medici family since the 16th century. It depicts Mary embracing the Christ child while sitting in a chair as the young John the Baptist devoutly watches. The Madonna della Sedia is one of the single most important of Raphael's Madonnas. The painting also showcases Raphael's use of the tondo form and his naturalistic approach to depicting the Madonna. Description The Madonna della Sedia is Raphael's most humanistic form of the Madonna. Throughout Raphael's life, this humanistic representation of the Madonna occupied his mind. The Madonna della Sedia is the incarnation of a realistic mother and child, representing human motherhood. Painted during his Roman period, this Madonna does not have the strict geometrical form and linear style of his earlier Florentine treatments of the same subject. The Madonna is portrayed subtly and naturalistically, including the drapery, her anatomy, and the movement of her body, as if it was a result of an immediate action. The Madonna della Sedia balanced simplification and detail with the treatment of her embroidered shawl, the directness of the figures and the touching of the two heads (Madonna and Christ child). Raphael dressed the Madonna in the Italian clothing of the time. Mary is depicted wearing a striped headdress, which falls behind her backside and compliments her richly colored ornamental dress with fringe. The Madonna's image also shows less attention to careful selections, which takes the focus off refinement, and shifts it to more of a rapid representation of an observation or attitude. The Christ child and Mary are both in profile view in order to balance the composition, which resolved the issue of overcrowding. Mary is sitting in a position that is not easily replicated in reality, which allows the Christ child to sit comfortably, while balancing the figures in regards to the painting's round shape. The curvature of the two arms of Mary and Christ child in the foreground also lend themselves to a spherical form, which rounds out the composition. The chair dictates the outer limits