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Vatican City and Germany produced joint stamps issued based upon the work of Raffaello Sanzio (Raphael, 1483-1520). The Sistine Madonna was commissioned by Pope Julius II for the Church of St. Sixtus in Piacenza. The Madonna of Foligno was originally designed as an altarpiece for the Church of Santa Maria in Aracoeli in Rome. It is likely that Raphael painted both pieces side by side at his Urbino workshop. Both paintings display the Blessed Mother and the Christ Child. 
The €0,60 stamp is the Madonna of Foligno located in the Pinacoteca Art Gallery of the Vatican. The Madonna of Foligno includes St. Francis. John the Baptist, and St. Jerome as well as Sigismondo de' Conti, who commissioned the artist to create the new alter piece. The €0,75 Sistine Madonna is located in Dresden, Germany at the Gemaldegalerie Alm Meister, and formerly at the court of the Elector of Saxony. The Sistine Madonna includes Saint Sixtus and St. Barbara in the design. The bottom of this design contains two rather tiny angels, sometimes referred to as the two angelic brothers, often copied on commercial works of art. The full painting is reproduced on the two souvenir sheets issued simultaneously with the stamps. 250,000 stamps were issued along with 200,000 of each souvenir sheet, The stamp values are €1,40 for the Madonna of Foligno and €2,40 for the Sistine Madonna souvenir sheets. Technical Details: Scott Catalogue - 1495 - 1498 Date Issued - 01 March 2012 Face Value - €0,60, €0,75 Perforations - 13-1/4 x 13-1/4 Printing Process - Offset Printer - Cartor (France) Max Printed - 250,000 Joint Issue - Germany |
| (Source - Vatican Notes: Volume: 60 Issue: 352 Page: 4-6) |
