How does this artwork elucidate its History?
The altarpiece was commissioned for a chapel dedicated to St. Cecilia in the Augustinian church of San Giovanni in Monte in Bologna. According to Vasari the work was commissioned by Cardinal Lorenzo Pucci in 1513. Given the extraordinary popularity of the painter at this time in his career, it is likely that only such a highly placed church authority could have had any hope of hiring him.  The patron of the chapel itself, however, was Elena Duglioli dall'Olio, an aristocratic Bolognese woman who would later be beatified for her piety.  She was a close friend of Antonio Pucci, Cardinal Lorenzo's nephew, and most art historians today agree that the Pucci must have served as her agents and advisers with Raphael and that the painting was more likely commissioned for her around 1516, when construction on the chapel was completed. Duglioli had a particular devotion to the cult of St. Cecilia and had been given a relic of the saint (her knucklebone) by the papal legate to Bologna, Cardinal Francesco Alidosi.  She struggled to live a chaste life in emulation of the saint and persuaded her husband not to consummate their marriage.The painting was looted to Paris in 1798. While there, it was transferred to canvas. In 1815, the painting was returned to Bologna where, after cleaning, it was hung in the Pinactoeca Nazionale. The painting's condition is poor, as it has been damaged by repainting over the years.
Lorenzo Pucci Raphael transferred to canvas Cardinal Francesco Alidosi Bologna Augustinian Cardinal Paris San Giovanni in Monte Antonio Pucci