Elizabeth Shewell West and Her Son, Raphael

Elizabeth Shewell West and Her Son, Raphael by Benjamin West: West was the first American artist to study in Italy, where he spent three…

What to notice

In Elizabeth Shewell West and Her Son, Raphael by Benjamin West, start with classical, portrait, figurative. Then look closely at this museum-described detail: He so admired the artistic ideals of the Italian Renaissance master Raphael that he named his eldest son after him, and he imitated Raphael’s celebrated Madonna of the Chair when…

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West was the first American artist to study in Italy, where he spent three years before permanently settling in London. He so admired the artistic ideals of the Italian Renaissance master Raphael that he named his eldest son after him, and he imitated Raphael’s celebrated Madonna of the Chair when composing this tender double portrait of his wife and child.