The subject matter of Maddona and Child was a very popular one for artists of the sixteenth century. Rapahel, and Giovanni Bellini both painted numerous versions of the Maddona and Child. While both of the artists viewed the subject as a religious and highly emotional expression, their portrayal of many other aspects differed greatly. While Raphael portrayed what seems to be a loving, warm relationship between mother and child, a lifelike Christ child, and serenity within his paintings, Bellini portrayed a relationship that seems distant relationship between mother and child, a deathlike image of the Christ child and a sense...
expression is a troubled one. His arms hang limp, though he does grasp an apple in his right hand, and his legs do not seem to support him. His head, like in "Madonna of the Meadows" if falling to one side, as if he cannot support it. His body is thin and elongated, appearing longer than most children would. Perhaps the distinction which could be made between Bellini"s works and Raphael"s works is the level of passiveness which the Child is portraying. Bellini"s paintings of the Child foretell the tragic future for which the Christ-child will live to experience.