The Virgin with Child by Maratta

The Virgin with Child (1660) by Carlo Maratta (1625-1713)
New Zealand Stamp 3d Issued Christmas 1966
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

Carlo Maratta spent the majority of his life as a well regarded artist and it said to be the last classical style artist in a long line from Raphael.   He began his career while he was young - he was born in a papal state and moved to Rome at age 11 under the care of a friend of his father who was also a secretary to the nephew of the Pope.  These good connections must have assisted in him being able to further develop his talent.  He was apprenticed by Andrea Sacchi and built a strong friendship with Giovan Bellori, who was a big art collector and influence on the art market in Rome during this period.

Some of his work was commissioned by the Pope - this is one of his earlier pieces of work in a long career.  He would proceed to large frescos later in his career under the commission of the popes from Rome to France.  The majority of his work had a religious theme, although he also completed portraits of important figures in Rome at the time.

Two Trinities by Bartolome Murillo

The Two Trinities (1682) by Bartolome Murillo
New Zealand 3d Stamp Issued Christmas 1965
National Gallery, London

Murillo (1617-1682) specialised in religious paintings as one of two leading artists in 17th Century Spain - the other being Velazquez.  This painting features two trinities - the first being the Holy Trinity of father, son and ghost, while the other is the earthly trinity of Mary, Joseph and Jesus - the holy family.  The light and mood in this painting is very striking.

Murillo faced extensive personal loss during his long life.  He outlived three wives and all but three of his nine children.  He also survived the plague that hit Seville in 1649, wiping out half the population of the city.  No wonder his work included heavenly clouds and cherubs, as it must have been a welcome way to avoid all the death and sadness on earth!

Another of Murillo's works features in a UK stamp issue in 1967: Madonna in the Clouds.

The Madonna in Prayer by Sassoferrato

Madonna in Prayer (1609-1684) by Sassoferrato (1650)
New Zealand 2d Stamp Issued 1962 Christmas
National Gallery London

This work is rich in colour and volume with the heavy draperies of the virgin.  Sassoferrato was heavily influenced by Raphael.  Most of his work consisted of devotional religious paintings, many of which were repeated.  He was trained Umbria by his father, prior to reaching the peak of his career in Rome.

The stamp was very popular and it was awarded the Philatelic Societies of San Francisco award for the most beautiful stamp of the year.

Stamps that include works by Raphael:
Madonna and the Goldfinch (1505)
The Large Cowper Madonna (1507)
The Virgin and Child (1508)
The School of Athens (1511)

School of Athens by Raphael

School of Athen by Raphael (1511)
Greece Stamp issued 1978
Vatican Museum and Galleries, Vatican City (Rome)

This stamp captures a very small part of the high renaissance style fresco, The School of Athens, which is one of Raphael’s most famous works.  It was completed to decorate the Stanza della Segnatura commission by Pope Julius II. The Stanza was the first set of rooms to be decorated, and this painting was the second in the set of paintings that adorn the walls. Although it was created for a grand room in the Vatican, nearly every one of the figures in the painting can be identified as a Greek philosopher, rather than a religious character. The fresco's position as well as the philosophers' walk in direction of the Holy Sacrament on the opposite wall suggested the interpretation of the whole room as the movement from the classical philosophy to the true religion and from the pre-Christian world to Christianity.  Raphael included the likeness of Michelangelo himself in the painting, as the philosopher Heraclitus.  The stamp series was issued to commemorate the 2,300th Anniversary of the death of Aristotle.

Raphael - Madonna and the Goldfinch

Raphael (1483-1520) - Madonna and the Goldfinch (1505)
Italy 50 lira Stamp issued 1970
Painting held in the Uffizi Gallery Florence

This painting was depicted on stamps to commemorate the 450th Anniversary of the death of Raphael.  The painting was originally given to someone as a wedding gift, before being damaged into 19 different parts during an earthquake in 1546.  It is typical of Raphael's style, with perfect geometric framing of the three figures - Mary, St John the Baptist and the little baby Jesus.  The was meticulously restored recently, only returning to the Uffizi Gallery in 2008.

Other works by Raphael:

The Large Cowper Madonna, USA

The Virgin and Child with John the Baptist, France

Raphael Self Portrait, San Marino

The Madonna and the Goldfinch has also been depicted on a stamp by the USA, but the painting was completed by Giovanni Baptista Tiepolo.

Giotto - the Ognissanti Madonna

Giotto (1266-1337) - the Ognissanti Madonna (1310)
Italy 40 lira Stamp issued 1966
Uffuzi Galley - Florence

This painting was commissioned by an obscure religious order when Giotto returned to Florence in the period around 1310.  Ognissanti refers to the church where the painting was originally housed, being the All Saints Church in Florence.  The painting is now housed in the Uffuzi Gallery in Florence.

Giotto is credited as being the first in a line of artists who kicked off the Italian Renaissance at the end of the middle ages.  Other stamps have works that are from Giotto:

Sermon on the Mount, France Stamp

Raphael - Triumph of Galatea

Raphael (1483-1520) - Voyage of Galatea (1511)
Italy 25 lira stamp issued 1970
Fresco Held at the Villa Farnesina Rome Italy

Raphael was commissioned to do this secular artistic piece at the home of a rich trading family in Italy.  Galatea is the ideal female form in the centre of the picture, being dragged through the water on a shell chariot that is being carried by two happy dolphins.  Fearsome tritons are seen dragging nymphs into the sea and sounding trumpets. 

Raphael is famous for mastering the art of placing bodies harmoniously in beautiful pieces of art.  He lived a short life, but gained great fame.

Raphael's art has also been used on other stamps:

The Large Cowper Madonna

La Belle Jardiniere

Self Portrait

Lorenzo Lotto - The Nativity

Lorenzo Lotto (1480-1566) - The Nativity (1525)
USA 6c Stamp Issued 1970
Painting Held at the National Gallery of Art, Washington DC 

Lotto has been traditionally been placed in the Venetian School of high renaissance art, although it is said that his work was rather eccentric at times, showing a transition to the first Florentine movements and Rome mannerist paintings of the 16th Century.

As a Venetian painter, it is clear that Lotto was influenced by Bellini.  

He also worked in the same time as the following artists:

Albrecht Durer

Raphael

Titian