The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York spent seven years planning the exhibition "Raphael: Sublime Poetry." This showcase goes beyond mere paintings, offering a multi-dimensional look at Raphael’s multifaceted genius during his short 37-year life. His self-portrait sketch (Figure 1), drawn at age 16, still glows like a pearl five hundred years later. The exhibition is scholarly yet warm, featuring numerous sketches, architectural and jewelry designs, and three tapestries on loan from the Spanish Royal Palace—the first time they have been shown to the public. The museum director aptly called it an "extraordinary, rare, and expensive exhibition." While Raphael’s large frescoes and altarpieces are difficult to display in museums, the Colonna Altarpiece (Figure 2) was successfully reassembled for the site.

This article focuses on another masterpiece, the Sistine Madonna (Figure 3, 1512), and tells the story of its "wandering" in the Soviet Union.

A Turbulent History: Beloved by Germans and Russians Alike

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s (1749-1832) belief in the sublime perfection of art influenced generations of Germans and Russians, specifically regarding the Sistine Madonna. In his Italian Journey and Dresden manuscripts, Goethe wrote a famous tribute:

"Even if Raphael had created only this one work of art in his entire life, it would be enough to make him immortal."

This praise deeply resonated in Russia. In the 18th and 19th centuries, Russian literati were heavily influenced by German Romanticism and Goethe. Because the Russian education system held German literature in high esteem, many officers read Goethe’s praise of the painting during their schooling. Consequently, from the royal family to commoners, the Sistine Madonna became a familiar icon in Russia.

During the 19th-century Tsarist era, court painters were often sent to Dresden to copy the work. A large-scale copy hung in the study of the Empress at the Winter Palace (Figure 4). Russian intellectuals and philosophers also kept reproductions in their studies, often breaking the painting down into lithographs or engravings. The two cherubs at the bottom are perhaps the most reproduced elements in art history. For Russian art students, copying this painting was a mandatory part of their training, ensuring the image was deeply embedded in Russian culture long before 1945.

However, the painting’s journey was fraught with peril, nearly meeting its end during World War II.

A Papal Commission and the Red Army's Discovery

The Sistine Madonna was commissioned by Pope Julius II as an altarpiece for a Sistine convent in Piacenza, Italy. In 1754, Augustus III of Saxony purchased it for a massive sum of 25,000 gold thalers and brought it to Dresden, where it became a crown jewel of the State Art Collections.

In 1945, after Germany's defeat and the devastating firebombing of Dresden, the masterpiece went missing. It was eventually discovered by Leonid Volynsky, a Red Army captain with a background in art history, hidden in the Porta quarry or nearby tunnels. The painting was found in a wooden crate, suffering from dampness and water damage.

Recognizing its value, Volynsky oversaw its emergency transport to a temporary "art hospital" at Dresden’s Summer Palace. Soviet restoration experts worked tirelessly to stabilize the paint before shipping it by train to Moscow. Volynsky later chronicled these events in his dramatic memoir/novel Seven Days, even claiming the Nazis had rigged the tunnels with explosives.

According to his accounts, when the crate was opened in Moscow, the soldiers stood guard with solemn respect. Great writers like Fyodor Dostoevsky (who kept reproductions in his study—Figure 6) and Tolstoy hailed the work as the "peak of human spirit" and a "perfect blend of divinity and humanity."

An Unusual Madonna

Raphael’s women are typically sweet and gentle, but in this painting, the Virgin and Child share gazes of sadness and alarm. To the left, Pope Sixtus II gestures toward the congregation with tension; on the right, Saint Barbara gazes down peacefully; at the bottom, the two cherubs look on with an air of detachment. The composition conveys an unusually heavy message.

The Sistine Madonna on Soviet Soil

The Red Army took the painting to Moscow as a trophy of war, where it remained in the Pushkin Museum for ten years (1945–1955). It was never publicly displayed during this time; the Soviets claimed they were performing vital restoration work (led by expert Pavel Korin). In 1955, two years after Stalin’s death, the Soviet Union decided to return the painting to East Germany (GDR) as a symbol of "socialist friendship."

Before its return, a massive farewell exhibition was held. The museum stayed open seven days a week for up to 14 hours a day to accommodate the crowds. Over four months, 1.2 million people visited. Volynsky himself attended, moved as if reuniting with a long-lost relative. Today, the painting is back in its home at the Old Masters Picture Gallery in Dresden (Figures 5-1 & 5).

Reflection: Art vs. Politics

The Russian affinity for Western civilization dates back to Peter the Great, yet Russia has often occupied a space between the East and West. While Raphael represents the pinnacle of the Renaissance, the Soviet system’s destruction of private property and class culture clashed with the individualistic origins of Western art. Consequently, the West often viewed the Red Army’s acquisition not as "rescue," but as "looting."

During the Cold War, the 1955 return of the painting was seen by the West as political propaganda to win over the socialist bloc. The Soviet narrative, however, emphasized their role as "custodians of civilization" who restored a masterpiece the West had failed to protect.

In the 1.2 million people who flooded the Pushkin Museum, one must wonder: how many were there out of a genuine thirst for beauty, and how many were part of a state-orchestrated crowd? The author chooses to believe the former.

Conclusion

The story of the Sistine Madonna’s wandering in the Soviet Union shows how a single work of art can transcend national borders and political systems to touch the human soul. Such pure beauty, carrying a sense of the divine, remains a universal symbol of hope. (translated from Chinese by Gemini)