Yet the extraordinary sweetness of expression, nobility of form, and beauty of colouring in the Madonnas make you almost hold your breath when you look at them.
In the 'Knight's Dream' there is a simple beauty in the pose and grouping of the figures.

You can hardly fancy three figures better arranged for the purpose of the subject.

There is something inevitable about them, which is the highest praise due to a mastery of design in the art of composition.

Raphael's surpassing gift was in fitting beautiful figures into any given space, so that it seems as though the space had been made to fit the figures, instead of the figures to fit the space.

You could never put his round Madonnas into a square frame.