Raphael (1483–1520)
The Small Cowper Madonna, c. 1505
oil on panel

National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
The Small Cowper Madonna is my favorite of the sacred artworks I've featured during this Christmas season. (Her First Christmas Tree. And Lightning in Her Hands is my favorite of the secular works.) Mary and Jesus look more like real people in this painting than in most others, which I find appealing.