page_title: Madonna of Loreto
section_title: Cardinal Sfondrati
hierarchical_section_title: Madonna of Loreto / Provenance / Cardinal Sfondrati
context_page_description: The Madonna of Loreto is a painting finished around 1511 by the Italian High Renaissance painter Raphael. It is housed in the Musée Condé of Chantilly, France.
  For centuries the painting kept company with Raphael's Portrait of Pope Julius II, first at the Santa Maria del Popolo, then in private collections, and for a time their location was unknown. Their ownership, or provenance, has been difficult to unravel because of the number of copies of both paintings, the unclear ownership chain, misinformation and delay of publication of vital information.
  For instance, this painting received its name from a copy at the Basilica della Santa Casa in Loreto which was at one time thought to be the original. Now is it certain that the painting at Loreto was a copy – and therefore the painting name is a misnomer.
  Even so, the well-copied painting has been a beloved and critically acclaimed painting for centuries.
context_section_description: In 1591, Raphael's  Portrait of Julius II and what was later called Madonna of Loreto were removed from the church by Paolo Camillo Sfondrati, later Cardinal Sfondrati, and nephew of Pope Gregory XIV. In 1608, he sold the paintings to Cardinal Scipione Borghese.
caption: Madonna del Velo with Cardinal Paolo Emilio Sfondrati, c. 1591 (Wilanów Palace in Warsaw).
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