The Virgin stands against a dark ground, holding the Christ Child and looking gently down and away. Raphael painted it around 1505, soon after arriving in Florence, and the soft sfumato modelling shows what he had learned from Leonardo. It takes its name from Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany, who owned it.
Look closer
The black background is a later addition. X-rays show that Raphael first painted an interior with an arched window and a glimpse of countryside.
Looks like this
Compared by a vision model
