‘Stepping into the World’ Martin Heidegger’s remarks on the ‘Sistine Madonna’

This essay examines Martin Heidegger’s philosophical reading of Raphael’s painting Sistine Madonna. Three explanatory lines of Heidegger’s thought are discussed: the Sistine Madonna in the historical transformation of art, a phenomenological analysis of the image, and finally a reading of the painting in light of the close connection between image and Eucharist. Each of these lines contributes towards a hermeneutical appreciation of the image that foregrounds the profound theological dimension of Heidegger’s philosophical approach to Raphael’s painting.