Sistine Madonna, also called La Madonna di San Sisto, is an oil painting by the Italian artist Raffaello Sanzio (Raphael).
It is one of the last Madonnas painted by the artist and was commissioned in 1512 by Pope Julius II as an altarpiece for the church of San Sisto in Piacenza.
Relocated to Dresden from 1754, the well-known painting has been particularly influential in Germany. After World War II, it was relocated to Moscow for a decade before it was returned to Germany. There, it resides as one of the central pieces in the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister.
The winged angels - i cherubini - beneath Mary are famous in their own right, if not more famous than the whole painting. Heavily marketed, they have been featured in stamps, postcards, t-shirts, and wrapping paper.
