At the National Gallery, I found the section of the 16th century especially interesting. Two paintings in particular from that era stood out to me, and they are both by Raphael. The first, The Ansidei Madonna, was absolutely gorgeous and caught my eye immediately. It is a rather large painting with an elegant and magnificent gold frame. I thought Raphael did an amazing job with this painting and loved the bright colors. While some paintings have a lot of meaning being grim with dull colors, I am drawn to the vibrant and bright paintings. Raphael's second painting, The Crucified Christ with the Virgin Mary, Saints, and Angels, was also a magnificent painting with bright colors and was also surrounded by a beautiful golden frame. In this painting, I especially liked Raphael's take on the crucifiction scene with the two angels on either side of Christ. I have never seen a scene with the angels present and just thought it was a really interesting way to look at the death of Christ. It makes the scene more endearing, and not so heartbreaking. Ususally the death of Chirst is a solemn and grim picture that portrays the great suffering and sacrifice of Jesus. However, I thought it was really great to also show the brighter side of his death. That it was all a part of God's plan and that he had a purpose. And that he had his angels there by his side at the time of his death.