Raphael Angels

The Sistine Madonna is an oil painting on canvas and represents one of the last works Raphael would complete. In the complete work, the Virgin Mary stands upon a cloud holding the Christ child. The Madonna is accompanied by Saint Sixtus and Saint Barbara. The cherubim, arguably the most famous in the world, are located at the very bottom of the painting. The work was nearly destroyed during World War II as the allies bombed the German city of Dresden, but was thankfully saved by Russian forces. Though shortly held by the Soviet Union, the painting has since returned to Germany in the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister. 

Note: This painting left an impression on me somewhat indirectly. A print of the Madonna painting hung in in my parent's bedroom in our home in Lakewood, a west side suburb in Cleveland. Years later I took a picture of my kids at home in Raleigh, NC (around 1992). In 2016 these two angels introduced us to Lawton (Robert Lawton Dewey) and James Benjamin Morgan.