Amazing grace: Raphael's The Mond Crucifixion

Raphael was 19 or 20 years old when he painted this paradoxically sweet and beautiful crucifixion. Think of that and look at this and you know why he is one of the greatest artists. I love the blue, subtle sky, the sun and moon, and the noble, classic grace of this picture. When Raphael died in 1520, still so young, it was seen in Rome as a second crucifixion – he was the age of Christ Illustration: The National Gallery, London