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Transfiguration (Raphael)
Transfiguration (Raphael)
Transfiguration (Raphael)
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The Transfiguration
ArtistRaphael
Year1516–20[1]
MediumOil tempera on wood[2]
Dimensions410 cm × 279 cm (160 in × 110 in)
LocationPinacoteca Vaticana, Vatican City
Accession40333[1]
Websitewww.museivaticani.va/content/museivaticani/en/collezioni/musei/la-pinacoteca/sala-viii---secolo-xvi/raffaello-sanzio--trasfigurazione.html

The Transfiguration is the last painting by the Italian High Renaissance master Raphael. Cardinal Giulio de Medici – who later became Pope Clement VII (in office: 1523–1534) – commissioned the work, conceived as an altarpiece for Narbonne Cathedral in France; Raphael worked on it in the years preceding his death in 1520.[1] The painting exemplifies Raphael's development as an artist and the culmination of his career. Unusually for a depiction of the Transfiguration of Jesus in Christian art, the subject is combined with the next episode from the Gospels (the healing of a possessed boy) in the lower part of the painting. The work is now in the Pinacoteca Vaticana in the Vatican City.[1]

From the late 16th century until the early 20th century, various commentators regarded it as the most famous oil painting in the world.

History of the painting

[edit]

By December 1517, the latest date of commission, Cardinal Giulio de Medici, cousin to Pope Leo X (1513–1521), was also the Pope's vice-chancellor and chief advisor. He had been endowed with the legation of Bologna, the bishoprics of Albi, Ascoli, Worcester, Eger and others. From February 1515, this included the archbishopric of Narbonne.[3] He commissioned two paintings for the cathedral of Narbonne, The Transfiguration of Christ from Raphael and The Raising of Lazarus from Sebastiano del Piombo. With Michelangelo providing drawings for the latter work, Medici was rekindling the rivalry initiated a decade earlier between Michelangelo and Raphael, in the Stanze and Sistine Chapel.[4]

From 11 to 12 December 1516, Michelangelo was in Rome to discuss with Pope Leo X and Cardinal Medici the facade of the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Florence. During this meeting, he was confronted with the commission of The Raising of Lazarus and it was here that he agreed to provide drawings for the endeavour, but not to execute the painting himself. The commission went to Michelangelo's friend Sebastiano del Piombo. As of this meeting the paintings would become emblematic of a paragone between two approaches to painting, and between painting and sculpture in Italian art.[3]

An early modello for the painting, done in Raphael's studio by Giulio Romano, depicted a 1:10 scale drawing for The Transfiguration. Here Christ is shown on Mount Tabor. Moses and Eljah float towards him; John and James are kneeling to the right; Peter is to the left. The top of the model depicts God the Father and a throng of angels.[3] A second modello, done by Gianfrancesco Penni, shows a design with two scenes, as the painting was to develop. This modello is held by the Louvre.[5]

The Raising of Lazarus was unofficially on view by October 1518. By this time Raphael had barely started on his altarpiece. When Sebastiano del Piombo's work was officially inspected in the Vatican by Leo X on Sunday, 11 December 1519, the third Sunday of Advent, The Transfiguration was still unfinished.[3]

Raphael would have been familiar with the final form of The Raising of Lazarus as early as the autumn of 1518, and there is considerable evidence that he worked feverishly to compete, adding a second theme and nineteen figures.[3] A surviving modello for the project, now in the Louvre (a workshop copy of a lost drawing by Raphael's assistant Gianfrancesco Penni) shows the dramatic change in the intended work.

Modello for the Transfiguration of Christ, pen and brown ink with white highlights on paper primed with dark brown wash, 40 x 27 cm, c. 1516, Albertina

Examination of the final Transfiguration revealed more than sixteen incomplete areas and pentimenti (alterations).[3] An important theory holds that the writings of Blessed Amadeo Menes da Silva was key to the transformation. Amadeo was an influential friar, healer and visionary as well as the Pope's confessor. He was also diplomat for the Vatican State. In 1502, after his death, many of Amadeo's writings and sermons were compiled as the Apocalypsis Nova. This tract was well known to Pope Leo X. Guillaume Briçonnet, Cardinal Giulio de' Medici's predecessor as bishop of Narbonne, and his two sons also consulted the tract as spiritual guide. Cardinal Giulio knew the Apocalypsis Nova and could have influenced the painting's final composition. Amadeo's tract describes the episodes of the Transfiguration and the possessed boy consecutively. The Transfiguration represents a prefiguration of the Last Judgment, and of the final defeat of the Devil. Another interpretation is that the epileptic boy has been cured, thus linking the divinity of Christ with his healing power.[6]

Raphael died on 6 April 1520. For a couple of days afterward, The Transfiguration lay at the head of his catafalque at his house in the Borgo.[7][8] A week after his death, the two paintings were exhibited together in the Vatican.[3]

While there is some speculation that Raphael's pupil, Giulio Romano, and assistant, Gianfrancesco Penni, painted some of the background figures in the lower right half of the painting,[4] there is no evidence that anyone but Raphael finished the substance of the painting.[3] The cleaning of the painting from 1972 to 1976 revealed that assistants only finished some of the lower left figures, while the rest of the painting is by Raphael himself.[9]

Rather than send it to France, Cardinal Giulio de' Medici retained the picture. In 1523,[5] he installed it on the high altar in the Blessed Amadeo's church of San Pietro in Montorio, Rome,[10] in a frame which was the work of Giovanni Barile (no longer in existence). Giulio ordered Penni a copy of the Transfiguration to take with him to Naples. The final result with slight differences from the original is preserved in the Prado Museum in Madrid.[11] A mosaic copy of the painting was completed by Stefano Pozzi in St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican City in 1774.[5]

In 1797, during Napoleon Bonaparte's Italian campaign, it was taken to Paris by French troops and installed in the Louvre. Already on 17 June 1794, Napoleon's Committee of Public Instruction had suggested an expert committee accompany the armies to remove important works of art and science for return to Paris. The Louvre, which had been opened to the public in 1793, was a clear destination for the art. On 19 February 1799, Napoleon concluded the Treaty of Tolentino with Pope Pius VI, in which was formalized the confiscation of 100 artistic treasures from the Vatican.[12]

Wedding procession of Napoleon and Marie-Louise of Austria in 1810 (detail)

Among the most sought after treasures Napoleons agents coveted were the works of Raphael. Jean-Baptiste Wicar, a member of Napoleon's selection committee, was a collector of Raphael's drawings. Baron Antoine-Jean Gros, another member, had been influenced by Raphael. For artists like Jacques-Louis David, and his pupils Girodet and Ingres, Raphael represented the embodiment of French artistic ideals. Consequently, Napoleon's committee seized every available Raphael. To Napoleon, Raphael was simply the greatest of Italian artists and The Transfiguration his greatest work. The painting, along with the Apollo Belvedere, the Laocoön, the Capitoline Brutus and many others, received a triumphal entry into Paris on 27 July 1798, the fourth anniversary of Maximilien de Robespierre's fall.[12]

In November 1798, The Transfiguration was on public display in the Grand Salon at the Louvre. As of 4 July 1801, it became the centrepiece of a large Raphael exhibition in the Grande Galerie. More than 20 Raphaels were on display. In 1810, a famous drawing by Benjamin Zix recorded the occasion of Napoleon and Marie Louise's wedding procession through the Grande Galerie, The Transfiguration on display in the background.[12]

St. Matthew and another apostle, red chalk over stylus, 328 x 232 mm

The painting's presence at the Louvre gave English painters like Joseph Farington (on 1 and 6 September 1802)[13]: 1820–32  and Joseph Mallord William Turner (in September 1802) the opportunity to study it. Turner would dedicate the first of his lectures as Professor of Perspective at the Royal Academy to the picture.[14] Farington also reported on others having been to see the picture: Swiss painter Henry Fuseli, for whom it was second at the Louvre only to Titian's The Death of St. Peter Martyr (1530), and English painter John Hoppner.[13]: 1847  The Anglo-American painter Benjamin West "said that the opinion of ages stood confirmed that it still held the first place".[13]: 1852  Farington himself expressed his sentiments as follows:

Were I to decide by the effect it had upon me I should not hesitate to say that the patient care and solid manner in which The Transfiguration is painted made an impression on my mind that caused other pictures esteemed of the first Class, to appear weak, and as wanting in strength & vigour.

— Joseph Farington, The Diary of Joseph Farington Vol. V[13]: 1831 

After the fall of Napoleon Bonaparte, in 1815, envoys to Pope Pius VII, Antonio Canova and Marino Marini managed to secure The Transfiguration (along with 66 other pictures) as part of the Treaty of Paris. By agreement with the Congress of Vienna, the works were to be exhibited to the public. The original gallery was in the Borgia Apartment in the Apostolic Palace. After several moves within the Vatican, the painting now resides in the Pinacoteca Vaticana.[15]

Reception

[edit]
Study of the Head of an Apostle, black chalk over pouncing, c. 1519

The reception of the painting is well documented. Between the year 1525 and 1935, at least 229 written sources can be identified that describe, analyse, praise or criticise The Transfiguration.[16]

The first descriptions of the painting after Raphael's death in 1520 called The Transfiguration already a masterpiece, but this status evolved until the end of the 16th century. In his notes of a travel to Rome in 1577, the Spanish humanist Pablo de Céspedes called it the most famous oil painting in the world for the first time.[17] The painting would preserve this authority for more than 300 years. It was acknowledged and repeated by many authors, like the connoisseur François Raguenet, who analysed Raphael's composition in 1701. In his opinion, its outline drawing, the effect of light, the colours and the arrangement of the figures made The Transfiguration the most perfect painting in the world.[18]

An auxiliary cartoon for the apostle far left

Jonathan Richardson Senior and Junior dared to criticise[when?] the overwhelming status of The Transfiguration, asking if this painting could really be the most famous painting in the world.[19] They criticised that the composition was divided into an upper and a lower half that would not correspond to each other. Also the lower half would draw too much attention instead of the upper half, while the full attention of the viewer should be paid to the figure of Christ alone. This criticism did not diminish the fame of the painting, but provoked counter-criticism by other connoisseurs and scholars. For the German-speaking world, it was the assessment by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe[when?] that prevailed. He interpreted the upper and the lower half as complementary parts. This assessment was quoted by many authors and scholars during the 19th century and thus the authority of Goethe helped to save the fame of The Transfiguration.[20]

During the short period of time the painting spent in Paris, it became a major attraction to visitors, and this continued after its return to Rome, then placed in the Vatican museums. Mark Twain was one of many visitors and he wrote in 1869: "I shall remember The Transfiguration partly because it was placed in a room almost by itself; partly because it is acknowledged by all to be the first oil painting in the world; and partly because it was wonderfully beautiful."[21]

In the early 20th century, the fame of the painting rapidly diminished and soon The Transfiguration lost its denomination as the most famous painting in the world. A new generation of artists did not accept Raphael as an artistic authority anymore. Copies and reproductions were no longer in high demand. While the complexity of the composition had been an argument to praise the painting until the end of the 19th century, viewers were now repelled by it. The painting was felt to be too crowded, the figures to be too dramatic and the whole setting to be too artificial. In contrast, other paintings like the Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci were much easier to recognise and did not suffer from the decline of the overwhelming status of Raphael as an artistic example.[22] Thus The Transfiguration is a good example for the changeability of the fame of an artwork, that may last for centuries but may also decline in just a short period.

Reproductions

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The fame of the painting is also based on its reproduction. While the original could only be admired in one place – in Rome, and for a short period of time in Paris after it had been taken away by Napoleon – the large number of reproductions ensured that the composition of the painting was omnipresent in nearly every important art collection in Europe. It could thus be studied and admired by many collectors, connoisseurs, artists and art historians.

Including the mosaic in St Peter's in the Vatican, at least 68 copies were made between 1523 and 1913.[16] Good copies after the painting were highly sought after during the Early Modern period and young artists could earn money for an Italian journey by selling copies of The Transfiguration. One of the best painted copies ever was made by Gregor Urquhart in 1827.[23] At least 52 engravings and etchings were produced after the painting until the end of the 19th century, including illustrations for books like biographies and even for Christian songbooks.[16] The Istituto nazionale per la grafica in Rome possesses twelve of these reproductions.[24] At least 32 etchings and engravings can be traced that depict details of the painting, sometimes to use them as a part of a new composition.[16] Among these depictions of details is one set of prints of heads, hands and feet engraved by G. Folo after Vincenzo Camuccini (1806), and another set of heads produced in stipple engraving by J. Godby after drawings by I. Goubaud (1818 and 1830). The first engraved reproduction of The Transfiguration is also called to be the first reproductive print of a painting ever. It was made by an anonymous engraver in 1538 and is sometimes identified with the manner of Agostino Veneziano.

In 1981, Harvard University’s Fogg Museum opened an exhibition of high-quality photographic reproductions of the painting and its details. Large-format camera equipment (utilizing 20-by-24-inch negatives) and processing developed by the Polaroid Corporation made possible "photographic reproductions of unprecedented resolution and color fidelity."[25] The show went on to tour university art galleries at Cornell, Columbia, Yale, Temple, and the University of California, Berkeley, among others.[26]

Iconography

[edit]
St. Philip and St. Andrew, auxiliary cartoon in black chalk and white heightening over pouncing, 499 x 364 mm, at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford

Raphael's painting depicts two consecutive, but distinct, biblical narratives from the Gospel of Matthew, also related in the Gospel of Mark. In the first, the Transfiguration of Christ itself, Moses and Elijah appear before the transfigured Christ with Peter, James and John looking on (Matthew 17:1–9; Mark 9:2–13). In the second, the Apostles fail to cure a boy from demons and await the return of Christ (Matthew 17:14–21; Mark 9:14).[4]

The upper register of the painting shows the Transfiguration itself (on Mount Tabor, according to tradition), with the transfigured Christ floating in front of illuminated clouds, between the prophets Moses, on the right, and Elijah, on the left,[27] with whom he is conversing (Matthew 17:3). The two figures kneeling on the left are commonly identified as Justus and Pastor who shared August 6 as a feast day with the Feast of the Transfiguration.[28] These saints were the patrons of Medici's archbishopric and the cathedral for which the painting was intended.[3] It has also been proposed that the figures might represent the martyrs Saint Felicissimus and Saint Agapitus who are commemorated in the missal on the feast of the Transfiguration.[5][28]

The upper register of the painting includes, from left to right, James, Peter and John,[29] traditionally read as symbols of faith, hope and love; hence the symbolic colours of blue-yellow, green and red for their robes.[3]

In the lower register, Raphael depicts the Apostles attempting to free the possessed boy of his demonic possession. They are unable to cure the sick child until the arrival of the recently transfigured Christ, who performs a miracle. The youth is no longer prostrate from his seizure but is standing on his feet, and his mouth is open, which signals the departure of the demonic spirit. As his last work before his death, Raphael (which in Hebrew רָפָאֵל [Rafa'el] means "God has healed"), joins the two scenes together as his final testament to the healing power of the transfigured Christ. According to Goethe: "The two are one: below suffering, need, above, effective power, succour. Each bearing on the other, both interacting with one another."[30]

The man at lower left is the apostle-evangelist Matthew (some would say St. Andrew),[5] depicted at eye-level and serving as interlocutor with the viewer.[3] The function of figures like those at the bottom left was best described by Leon Battista Alberti almost a century earlier in 1435.

I like there to be someone in the "historia", who tells the spectators what is going on, and either beckons them with his hand to look, or with ferocious expression and forbidding glance challenges them not to come near, as if he wished their business to be secret, or points to some danger or remarkable thing in the picture, or by his gestures invites you to laugh or weep with them.

— Leon Battista Alberti, On Painting (1435)[31]

Study of the Head of an Apostle, black chalk over pouncing, c. 1519

Matthew (or Andrew) gestures to the viewer to wait, his gaze focused on a kneeling woman in the lower foreground. She is ostensibly a part of the family group,[27] but on closer examination is set apart from either group. She is a mirror image of a comparable figure in Raphael's The Expulsion of Heliodorus from the Temple (1512).[4] Giorgio Vasari, Raphael's biographer, describes the woman as "the principal figure in that panel". She kneels in a contrapposto pose, forming a compositional bridge between the family group on the right and the nine apostles on the left. Raphael also renders her in cooler tones and drapes her in sunlit pink, while he renders the other participants, apart from Matthew, oblivious to her presence.[9] The woman's contrapposto pose is more specifically called a figura serpentinata or serpent's pose, in which the shoulders and the hips move in opposition; one of the earliest examples being Leonardo da Vinci's Leda (c. 1504), which Raphael had copied while in Florence.[9]

In the centre are four apostles of different ages. The blonde youth appears to echo the apostle Philip from The Last Supper. The seated older man is Andrew. Simon is the older man behind Andrew. Judas Thaddeus is looking at Simon and pointing towards the boy.[3]

The apostle on the far left is widely considered to be Judas Iscariot[27] He was the subject of one of only six surviving so-called auxiliary cartoons, first described by Oskar Fischel in 1937.[32]

Analysis and interpretation

[edit]
Lecture diagram, c. 1810, by J. M. W. Turner

The iconography of the picture has been interpreted as a reference to the delivery of the city of Narbonne from the repeated assaults of the Saracens. Pope Calixtus III proclaimed August 6 a feast day on the occasion of the victory of the Christians in 1456.[5]

Enlightenment philosopher Montesquieu noted that the healing of the obsessed boy in the foreground takes precedence over the figure of Christ. Modern critics have furthered Montesquieu's criticism by suggesting that the painting should be renamed to "Healing of the Obsessed Youth".[33]

J. M. W. Turner had seen The Transfiguration in the Louvre, in 1802. At the conclusion of the version of his first lecture, delivered on 7 January 1811, as Professor of Perspective at the Royal Academy, Turner demonstrated how the upper part of the composition is made up of intersecting triangles, forming a pyramid with Christ at the top.[34]

In a 1870 publication, German art historian Carl Justi observed that the painting depicts two subsequent episodes in the biblical narrative of Christ: after the transfiguration, Jesus encounters a man who begs mercy for his devil-possessed son.[35]

Raphael plays on a tradition equating epilepsy with the aquatic moon (luna, from whence lunatic). This causal link is played on by the watery reflection of the moon in the lower left corner of the painting; the boy is literally moonstruck.[3] In Raphael's time, epilepsy was often equated with the moon (morbus lunaticus), possession by demons (morbus daemonicus), and also, paradoxically, the sacred (morbus sacer). In the 16th century, it was not uncommon for sufferers of epilepsy to be burned at the stake, such was the fear evoked by the condition.[36] The link between the phase of the moon and epilepsy would only be broken scientifically in 1854 by Jacques-Joseph Moreau de Tours.[37]

Raphael's Transfiguration can be considered a prefiguration of both Mannerism, as evidenced by the stylised, contorted poses of the figures at the bottom of the picture; and of Baroque painting, as evidenced by the dramatic tension imbued within those figures, and the strong use of chiaroscuro throughout.

As a reflection on the artist, Raphael likely viewed The Transfiguration as his triumph.[38] Raphael uses the contrast of Jesus presiding over men to satiate his papal commissioners in the Roman Catholic Church. Raphael uses the cave to symbolize the Renaissance style, easily observed in the extended index finger as a reference to Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel. Additionally, he subtly incorporates a landscape in the background, but uses darker coloring to show his disdain for the style. Yet the focal point for the viewer is the Baroque styled child and his guarding father. In all, Raphael successfully appeased his commissioners, paid homage to his predecessors, and ushered in the subsequent predominance of Baroque painting. [citation needed]

On the simplest level, the painting can be interpreted as depicting a dichotomy: the redemptive power of Christ, as symbolised by the purity and symmetry of the top half of the painting; contrasted with the flaws of Man, as symbolised by the dark, chaotic scenes in the bottom half of the painting.

The philosopher Nietzsche interpreted the painting in his book The Birth of Tragedy as an image of the interdependence of Apollonian and Dionysian principles.[39]

The sixteenth-century painter and biographer Giorgio Vasari wrote in his Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects that The Transfiguration was Raphael's "most beautiful and most divine" work.

[edit]

Fragments of the Transfiguration appear on the cover of the Renaissance: Desire album mixed by Dave Seaman in 2001 and published by Ultra Records.

See also

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References

[edit]
[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Transfiguration (Raphael)

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from Grokipedia
is the last painting initiated by the Italian Renaissance artist Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino), left unfinished upon his death on April 6, 1520, and subsequently completed by his principal assistant Giulio Romano. Commissioned around 1517 by Cardinal Giulio de' Medici (later Pope Clement VII) as the high altarpiece for Narbonne Cathedral in France, the oil-on-panel work measures 410 by 279 centimeters and divides into two registers: the upper illustrating Christ's Transfiguration on Mount Tabor, where he appears radiant between Moses and Elijah before apostles Peter, James, and John; the lower showing the apostles' unsuccessful attempt to heal a demon-possessed boy, awaiting Christ's descent. Placed atop Raphael's funeral bier in Rome's Pantheon, the painting was retained by de' Medici rather than shipped to France, eventually donated to San Pietro in Montorio before acquisition by the Vatican Pinacoteca in 1815, where it remains. Renowned as Raphael's spiritual testament, it synthesizes his High Renaissance mastery of harmonious proportions and idealized forms with emerging Mannerist dynamism, emotional expressiveness, and complex spatial orchestration, marking a pivotal evolution in Western art toward the 16th century's stylistic shifts.

Description and Composition

Overall Layout and Dimensions

The Transfiguration is painted on a wooden panel measuring 405 cm in height by 278 cm in width. This large-scale format, intended for the high altar of , emphasizes its role as a monumental with a vertical orientation to draw the viewer's gaze upward toward the divine. The overall layout divides the composition into two vertically stacked registers, juxtaposing the supernatural Transfiguration above with the earthly of the possessed boy below, drawn from consecutive passages in Matthew 17:1–27. The upper register features Christ levitating in radiant glory between and , flanked by the apostles Peter, James, and John in awe, arranged in a dynamic pyramidal structure that conveys ethereal elevation and light. In contrast, the lower register depicts a chaotic scene of desperation, with the boy's father presenting the convulsing child to the remaining apostles amid a turbulent crowd, creating a sense of motion and human frailty through twisting figures and dramatic gestures. This bipartite structure innovatively merges two biblical episodes into a unified theological statement on faith's power to bridge divine mystery and temporal affliction, with subtle visual links like rays of light from above illuminating the lower turmoil. The rectangular frame accommodates the upper scene's more contained, luminous forms against the broader, agitated expanse below, enhancing spatial depth through Raphael's mastery of perspective and .

Upper Register: The Transfiguration

The upper register of Raphael's Transfiguration illustrates the , drawn from accounts in the Gospels of Matthew (17:1–9), Mark (9:2–10), and Luke (9:28–36), where Christ ascends with apostles Peter, James, and John, revealing his divine glory. Christ is centrally positioned, levitating above the ground in a radiant of light, his arms outstretched in a gesture of and revelation, with his tunic billowing dynamically to convey motion and ethereal elevation. Flanking him are the prophets to the right, identifiable by the stone tablets of the Law in his hand, and to the left, symbolizing the continuity between the Law and Prophets with Christ's fulfillment. Below the transfigured trio, the apostles Peter, James, and John react with awe and prostration, their figures shielding their eyes or kneeling in overwhelmed reverence toward the emanating from Christ, which bathes their faces and emphasizes the event's intensity. Raphael's composition employs principles of harmony and proportion, yet introduces Mannerist elements through elongated forms and dramatic foreshortening, heightening the sense of vertical ascent and luminous energy. The burst of light from behind Christ not only illuminates the prophets and apostles but also underscores the theological theme of divine manifestation, contrasting earthly perception with heavenly glory. Iconographically, the upper register emphasizes Christ's supremacy, positioned disproportionately larger and elevated to signify his transfigured state between the representatives of Judaism's foundational pillars—Moses for the and Elijah for prophetic tradition—affirming Christian doctrine of Christ as the . This arrangement draws from earlier Transfiguration depictions but innovates with Raphael's focus on emotional dynamism and light effects, influencing subsequent artists in rendering divine epiphanies. The scene's preparatory studies, including modelli, reveal Raphael's meticulous planning for these figures' poses to achieve a balanced yet ecstatic composition.

Lower Register: The Miracle of the Possessed Boy

The lower register of Raphael's Transfiguration illustrates the biblical episode of the apostles' unsuccessful attempt to exorcise a from a boy, as recounted in :14–29, where the disciples fail due to insufficient faith while is absent on the mount. This scene unfolds at ground level, forming a stark compositional to the ethereal upper register, with dynamic, jagged lines and frantic gestures evoking chaos and human limitation. The nine apostles, left behind while Peter, James, and John witness the Transfiguration, cluster around the afflicted child, their shadowed forms symbolizing spiritual obscurity amid the divine light above. Central to the composition is the possessed boy, depicted in a contorted, arched pose with his body twisting awkwardly, half-draped in blue cloth, mouth foaming to signify demonic as described in the Gospel accounts. His father kneels nearby, arms outstretched in desperate plea toward the apostles, embodying paternal anguish and the crowd's . The apostles exhibit varied expressions of confusion, despair, and futile exertion—some gesticulating emphatically, others raising hands toward the upper scene—conveying their impotence without Christ's presence and underscoring themes of faith's necessity for . This agitated grouping on the left side of the lower register draws viewers into the earthly turmoil, with raised arms and pointing fingers creating visual bridges to the transfigured Christ, implying anticipation of his descent to heal the boy. Raphael's use of cooler, muted tones and asymmetrical arrangement heightens the sense of disorder, contrasting the harmonious radiance above and reflecting influences from Leonardo da Vinci's expressive figure studies. Technical analysis post-1977 restoration confirms Raphael's direct execution in much of this area, with workshop assistants completing only the lower-right group, preserving the intended dramatic tension. The scene thus encapsulates the painting's dual narrative, juxtaposing apostolic failure against divine revelation to emphasize salvation's dependence on faith.

Historical Production

Commission and Context

In 1517, Cardinal Giulio de' Medici—cousin to and future —commissioned to create The Transfiguration as an altarpiece for the Cathedral of Saint Justus in , , following his appointment as of that . To encourage artistic rivalry, the cardinal simultaneously tasked with painting The Raising of Lazarus for the same cathedral, with both works intended to adorn the high altar. Sebastiano completed his canvas by 1519 and presented it to the pope, heightening the competitive pressure on Raphael, who began preliminary designs around 1516 but focused intensively on execution from 1518 onward. The commission occurred amid the cultural and ecclesiastical patronage of the Medici papacy under Leo X (r. 1513–1521), a period marked by lavish support for artists in to elevate papal prestige and aesthetics. , at the height of his fame, was simultaneously directing frescoes in the Vatican Stanze, architectural projects like the loggias, and a burgeoning workshop, which strained his ability to complete the altarpiece before his death on April 6, 1520. Despite Giulio de' Medici's initial intent to install it in , the unfinished painting remained in after 's passing; the cardinal retained it personally before donating it to the church of . This retention underscores the era's prioritization of Roman collections over provincial commissions, reflecting broader Medici strategies to centralize artistic treasures in the papal city.

Raphael's Execution and Death

Raphael commenced work on The Transfiguration around 1517, personally executing the upper register depicting Christ's transfiguration, which demonstrates his mature style with luminous figures and dynamic composition. The lower register, illustrating the of the possessed boy, remained largely in outline or preliminary stages at his , as evidenced by technical analyses revealing Raphael's direct hand primarily in the ethereal upper scene. Raphael died on April 6, 1520, at the age of 37 in , shortly before completing the . Historical accounts, including those by , attribute his sudden illness to a fever following overexertion or exposure after a night of , compounded by aggressive medical interventions like excessive , which was standard but often harmful practice. A 2020 medical analysis proposes a more precise cause: a respiratory infection akin to or viral illness, fatal due to bloodletting-induced complications rather than longstanding myths of from debauchery. The unfinished painting was positioned at the head of Raphael's deathbed in his Roman studio and later above his in the Pantheon during funeral rites, symbolizing its status as his final masterpiece. This abrupt death halted Raphael's direct execution, leaving the work for his workshop to finish, though the cardinal commissioner retained it rather than dispatching it as originally intended for .

Completion by Workshop Assistants


Raphael died on April 6, 1520, leaving The Transfiguration unfinished, with the upper register—depicting Christ's transfiguration—largely executed by his hand, while the lower register illustrating the miracle of the possessed boy remained in a more preliminary state. His chief workshop assistants, and Gianfrancesco Penni, completed the altarpiece shortly thereafter, adhering to Raphael's preparatory cartoons and to finalize the composition. Giorgio Vasari, in his Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects (1550), records that the painting was placed at the head of Raphael's during his funeral in Rome's Pantheon the following day, underscoring its status as his final work. Stylistic analysis reveals differences in finish: the upper scene exhibits Raphael's characteristic fluidity and luminosity, whereas the lower figures show cruder modeling and less refined , attributable to the assistants' interventions. Romano, in particular, is credited with executing much of the lower register, drawing on his role in the workshop's production of full-scale designs. The completion preserved the painting's intended dual narrative from the Gospels of Matthew and Mark, ensuring its delivery to the patron, Cardinal Giulio de' Medici, though it ultimately remained in rather than being sent to as originally planned. This collaborative finish reflects the collaborative practices of Raphael's Roman workshop, where assistants routinely contributed to major projects under his direction.

Materials and Techniques

Preparation and Underdrawing

The Transfiguration was executed on a large poplar wood panel, a material commonly used by for his altarpieces due to its availability and stability in . The panel support was prepared with multiple layers of grosso (coarse plaster) followed by finer gesso sottile, bound with and applied over a glue size layer to seal the wood and prevent absorption. This traditional preparation created a smooth, absorbent surface suitable for detailed underdrawing and , with the ground typically left off-white to enhance the luminosity of colors. Raphael's workshop relied on extensive preparatory drawings to plan the composition, including black chalk studies for figures like the apostles and a full-scale modello outlining the upper register of the transfiguration scene. These designs were transferred to the panel using mechanical aids such as squaring grids, which allowed proportional enlargement from smaller sketches, or by pricking the outlines of cartoons for pouncing with charcoal dust to create dotted guidelines. Indentations from stylus tracing are evident in some surviving studies intended for transfer, indicating direct outlining in areas requiring precision. The underdrawing on the panel itself was executed in a dry medium, likely black chalk or , consistent with Raphael's mature technique for allowing fluid adjustments during overpainting. While reflectography has not been publicly documented for the Transfiguration, examinations of Raphael's contemporaneous works reveal detailed, freehand elaborations over transferred lines, with for and corrections to refine poses and folds. In the unfinished lower register, completed by assistants like , vestiges of this underdrawing may have guided the execution, though Raphael's hand is evident in the more advanced upper section where paint directly follows the preparatory lines.

Pigments, Mediums, and Execution

Raphael executed The Transfiguration primarily in on a poplar wood panel, utilizing a tempera grassa technique that incorporated into an egg base for enhanced fluidity and depth. This medium facilitated the blending of tones and the creation of subtle gradations, aligning with 's shift toward Northern methods in his later Roman period. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analyses of comparable paintings from the early , such as those in the , , confirm the use of and as binders in varying passages, enabling durable, glossy finishes resistant to cracking. The palette featured high-quality inorganic and organic pigments standard to practice, including (basic lead carbonate) for opaque highlights and grounds, (mercuric ) for vivid reds in drapery and flesh, natural () for deep blues in skies and robes, for secondary blues, for luminous accents, and earth pigments like red and yellow ochres for modeling forms. and provided greens, often glazed with copper resinate for jewel-like effects, while carbon-based blacks offered contrasts in shadows. These choices prioritized vibrancy and symbolic resonance, with costly reserved for divine elements like Christ's halo. Execution involved meticulous layering: an initial thin in earth tones established composition and values, followed by mid-tones built via scumbles and glazes for atmospheric perspective and radiant light effects in the upper transfiguration scene. Raphael's personal brushwork there exhibits fluid, calligraphic strokes and highlights to convey divine energy and torsion, calibrated precisely on the palette for tonal harmony. The lower miracle scene, finished posthumously by and assistants using transferred cartoons, displays broader, more emphatic applications mimicking Raphael's style but with less refinement in transitions. This division is evident in the painting's varied surface textures and pentimenti, underscoring Raphael's focus on the epiphanic upper register before his death on April 6, 1520.

Evidence from Technical Analyses

X-ray examination of the panel reveals numerous pentimenti, or alterations, evidencing ongoing compositional revisions executed directly in paint rather than solely through preliminary drawings. These changes are consistent with Raphael's late practice of refining forms on the support, as opposed to rigid adherence to s, and suggest the absence of a single full-scale for the entire composition. Preparatory studies for heads and hands in the Pinacoteca Vaticana exhibit traces of (pouncing), dotted patterns from perforated cartoons used to transfer designs, indicating that such aids guided aspects of the underdrawing on the panel. reflectography, while not comprehensively documented for the original, has been recommended to further elucidate the underdrawing's character, potentially revealing freehand elaborations over transferred outlines. A detailed cleaning and technical examination conducted by conservators, including Fabrizio Mancinelli, affirmed Raphael as the predominant executor, with minimal intervention attributable to assistants like , countering earlier accounts of substantial workshop completion in the lower register. The panel, constructed of cherry wood, shows no evidence of extensive overpainting or structural alterations beyond Raphael's hand in X-radiographs. These findings underscore the painting's status as Raphael's autograph culmination, executed on a 410 cm by 279 cm poplar-adjacent support typical of Roman altarpieces.

Iconography and Interpretation

Biblical Foundations

The is described in the as a pivotal of his divine glory, occurring after Peter’s of as the . In Matthew 17:1–9, six days after this , leads Peter, James, and John up a high mountain, where he is transfigured: his face shines like the sun, his garments become white as light, and and appear talking with him. A bright overshadows them, and a voice from the declares, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” :2–8 parallels this closely, specifying the mountain as one where they are alone and emphasizing the disciples’ fear upon hearing the voice. Luke 9:28–36 adds that prays during the event, the disciples are heavy with sleep but see his glory, and the figures discuss ’s impending departure (exodus) in . These accounts underscore the Transfiguration’s role in confirming ’s identity through the presence of (representing the Law) and (representing the Prophets), bridging fulfillment with divine endorsement. The command to “listen to him” echoes Deuteronomy 18:15 on the prophet like Moses, positioning as the ultimate authority. The event’s timing—framed between the prediction of Jesus’s and —serves as a glimpse of his glorified state, strengthening the disciples amid foretold suffering. Raphael’s composition integrates this upper scene with the immediately following episode in the Gospels: the healing of a demon-possessed boy upon descending the mountain. In Matthew 17:14–21, a man begs to heal his son, tormented by a spirit causing seizures, deafness, and muteness; the disciples had failed, prompting Jesus’s rebuke on their unbelief and the need for . Mark 9:14–29 elaborates on the boy’s symptoms—foaming, gnashing teeth, convulsions—and the father’s plea, “I believe; help my unbelief,” culminating in Jesus’s command and the spirit’s departure with a final shriek. Luke 9:37–43 similarly notes the crowd’s astonishment at the majestic power after the . This dual narrative structure in Matthew and Mark, linking divine above with earthly ministry below, informs the painting’s vertical division, symbolizing the interplay of glory and human affliction.

Symbolic and Theological Elements

The upper register of Raphael's Transfiguration depicts the biblical event from Matthew 17:1–9, Mark 9:2–10, and Luke 9:28–36, where Christ is transfigured in divine glory before the apostles Peter, James, and John, flanked by and . , holding the Tablets of the , and , the prophet associated with ascension and miracles, symbolize the fulfillment of prophecy and law in Christ's person, underscoring his divine identity as the . The radiant emanating from Christ's figure, illuminating the surrounding clouds and figures, represents the shekinah glory of God revealed in human form, a theological affirmation of the —Christ's full divinity coexisting with his humanity—intended to strengthen the apostles' faith before his Passion. The lower register illustrates the immediately preceding miracle from Matthew 17:14–21, where the apostles fail to exorcise a demon-possessed boy due to their "little ," contrasting with the transfiguration's above. This juxtaposition emphasizes Christ's sole over and , as the healing occurs only upon his descent, prefiguring the resurrection's triumph over sin and death through the . Symbolic lighting divides the scene: shadows on the left, where apostles gesture in confusion and desperation, evoke unbelief and human limitation, while illumination on the right highlights the pleading father and a female figure interpreted as personified , bridging earthly chaos with heavenly order. The boy's contorted form integrates themes of demonic affliction and physical torment, theologically linking possession to spiritual disorder remedied by divine intervention alone. Theologically, the composition as a whole advances a visio-devotional program, inviting viewers to contemplate the interplay of visible divine glory and invisible , where the transfiguration's epiphany demands a response of belief amid doubt, as echoed in the father's cry, "I believe; help my unbelief" (Mark 9:24). This dual structure underscores causal realism in Christian : Christ's revealed causally enables and redemption, rejecting self-reliant human efforts and privileging empirical witness to as evidence of power. Raphael's integration of these episodes, commissioned for a liturgical context, thus serves as an altar piece reinforcing Eucharistic themes of transformation and .

Historical and Local References

Raphael's Transfiguration draws on through its dynamic poses and compositional structure, which evoke the grandeur and of and Roman sculptures rediscovered in during the early . The twisting figures in the lower register, particularly the convulsing possessed boy and the gesturing apostles, recall Hellenistic depictions of physical and emotional turmoil, integrating antique models into a Christian narrative to heighten dramatic tension. Thematically, the painting aligns with the historical origins of the Transfiguration feast, instituted in the Western liturgy by on August 6, 1457, to commemorate the Hungarian victory over Ottoman forces at the Siege of in 1456, symbolizing divine intervention in contemporary conflicts. Commissioned in 1517 for yet executed amid Rome's vibrant artistic scene under papal patronage, the work reflects this recent liturgical development, commissioned during a period when the emphasized the event's reading in and on the feast day itself. Locally, the embodies Rome's fusion of biblical with classical revival, as —working in the Eternal City—blended Peruginesque idealism with influences from Florentine and Venetian light, tailored to the Medici cardinal's vision while rooted in the Vatican's cultural milieu. The upper transfiguration scene, with Christ elevated above and , parallels ancient Roman imperial of divine , adapted to affirm papal in the contemporary Roman .

Reception and Evaluation

Initial Responses and Placement

Upon 's death on April 6, 1520, the nearly finished Transfiguration was placed at the head of his funeral bier in Rome's Pantheon, a gesture that underscored its contemporary esteem as the artist's culminating masterpiece. This placement, reportedly advocated by Cardinal Bernardo Dovizi da Bibbiena, highlighted the painting's perceived perfection even in its incomplete state, with Raphael having personally executed the figure of Christ in a final session. Workshop assistants and Francesco Penni subsequently completed the lower register, adhering closely to Raphael's designs. Originally commissioned around 1517 by Cardinal Giulio de' Medici for the cathedral of in , the altarpiece was redirected after Raphael's demise. In 1523, following de' Medici's ascension as , it was installed above the high altar of the church of on Rome's Hill, where it served as the focal point of the sanctuary for centuries. Early accounts, including those by in his 1550 Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects, described the work as "the most famous, , [and] the most divine" among Raphael's oeuvre, reflecting the awe it inspired among 16th-century viewers for its synthesis of divine radiance and human drama. This initial veneration established the Transfiguration as a benchmark for excellence, influencing subsequent artistic and theological discourse.

Evolution of Critical Views

In the sixteenth century, extolled The Transfiguration as Raphael's supreme achievement in his Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects (1568 edition), describing it as "the most famous, the most beautiful and most divine" of his works, with the figure of Christ embodying the pinnacle of artistic force before Raphael's death exhausted him. emphasized its installation in 1524 above the altar in , positioned to rival Michelangelo's in the , underscoring contemporary perceptions of its technical and expressive superiority in depicting divine glory amid human turmoil. This acclaim persisted into the seventeenth century, with critics viewing the painting's dual scenes—the ethereal transfiguration above and the chaotic healing below—as a harmonious synthesis of sacred narrative and emotional depth, aligning with ideals of visual persuasion. By the late eighteenth century, neoclassical and early romantic critics began to qualify the adulation, targeting the composition's perceived excesses. Irish painter James Barry, in his 1799 Lectures on Painting, lambasted Raphael's late style in The Transfiguration as devolving into "affectation" and compositional disorder, particularly decrying the lower register's "heap of figures" as overwrought and lacking clarity, contrasting it unfavorably with earlier, more balanced works like the School of Athens. Similarly, Montesquieu, in his travel notes from 1728, reportedly contrasted the upper scene's angelic sublimity with the lower's demonic confusion, suggesting a split authorship that highlighted disunity rather than unity. These critiques reflected a growing preference for rational harmony over dramatic intensity, influencing nineteenth-century responses amid the painting's relocation during Napoleon's 1797 looting of Vatican treasures and its 1815 repatriation, where it symbolized cultural patrimony but also invited scrutiny of its unfinished state—completed posthumously by Giulio Romano— as a flaw in execution. Twentieth-century scholarship shifted toward reevaluation, acknowledging The Transfiguration's transitional role from poise to Mannerist dynamism, with the upper register's serene luminosity exemplifying Raphael's mastery of light and , while the lower's contorted poses and nocturnal shadows prefigured emotional turbulence in later . Critics like satirized its veneration in (1869), mocking the hype around its "expression" as contrived, yet formal analyses praised the intentional difficoltà—increased complexity through night setting and figure interactions—as innovative, not flawed. Modern studies, informed by technical examinations revealing Raphael's underdrawings and pigment layers, emphasize causal tensions between the scenes as deliberate theological commentary on divine revelation versus human limitation, mitigating earlier charges of incoherence while noting the epilepsy-like possession in the healing episode as a source of ongoing interpretive discomfort. This nuanced consensus affirms its status as a pinnacle of Raphael's oeuvre, valued for of his evolving technique despite incomplete execution, rather than idealized perfection.

Achievements and Criticisms

Raphael's Transfiguration is widely acclaimed as the pinnacle of his oeuvre, with biographer describing it in 1550 as the artist's "most beautiful and most divine" work, emphasizing its supreme execution of divine light and human emotion. The painting's innovative dual composition—juxtaposing the ethereal Transfiguration of Christ above with the chaotic miracle of the possessed boy below—successfully conveys the interplay of Christ's divine glory and earthly ministry, synthesizing Raphael's mastery of harmony with emerging expressive intensities. This structure, drawn from consecutive Gospel episodes in Matthew 17:1–27 and Mark 9:2–29, elevates the narrative beyond mere illustration, achieving a theological depth that underscores faith's triumph over doubt through dramatic contrasts in pose, gesture, and illumination. Technical achievements include Raphael's ambitious nocturnal setting, which heightens difficoltà through effects that cast figures in shadow while radiating celestial light from Christ, demonstrating unparalleled control over pigment layering and atmospheric perspective. The upper register's floating figures, with Christ's levitated form flanked by and , exemplify idealized proportion and , while the lower apostles' contorted dynamism prefigures Mannerist experimentation without sacrificing compositional unity. Vasari noted its placement over Raphael's upon his death on April 6, 1520, reflecting immediate recognition of its transcendent quality among contemporaries. Criticisms of the work center on its incomplete state at Raphael's death, with the lower register finished by pupils Giulio Romano and Francesco Penni, potentially compromising the purity of Raphael's vision and introducing inconsistencies in finish and style. Some scholars view the composition's enigmatic fusion of serene divinity and frenzied humanity as overly complex or disjointed, bordering on visual chaos that strains Renaissance equilibrium, an effect amplified by the stylized, elongated poses hinting at Mannerism's distortions. Art historians have also critiqued certain figures' uncharacteristic muscularity—evident in the apostles' shoulders—as a Michelangelo-influenced departure from Raphael's signature grace, signaling a late stylistic shift toward greater physicality at the expense of his earlier ethereal sweetness. These elements, while innovative, have led to debates over whether the painting fully resolves its ambitious scope or reveals the limits of Raphael's evolving approach.

Legacy and Scholarly Debates

Copies, Reproductions, and Influence

A full-scale copy of The Transfiguration was executed by Raphael's chief assistants, and Gianfrancesco Penni, shortly after the artist's death in 1520, as documented by in his Lives of the Artists. This replica, painted at actual size to match the original's dimensions of approximately 410 cm by 279 cm, preserves the composition's dual scenes of Christ's transfiguration above and the miracle of the possessed boy below. It is currently held in the Museo Nacional del Prado in . In the , a large-scale reproduction was created for the Transfiguration in , , replicating Raphael's original with high fidelity in colored glass tiles to serve as a durable liturgical image. This , among the basilica's most admired, underscores the painting's enduring devotional role and facilitated its dissemination to pilgrims unable to access the original in the nearby Pinacoteca Vaticana. The painting's influence extended through its pupils and engravers, who propagated its dramatic interplay of light, shadow, and narrative complexity—innovations that heightened difficoltà by merging nocturnal illumination with two biblical episodes in one frame, prefiguring Mannerist distortions and dynamism. , in particular, incorporated elements of the composition's expressive figures and spatial tensions into his own works, such as frescoes at Palazzo Te (1524–1534), adapting Raphael's synthesis of serenity and turmoil. Later artists, including , studied and echoed its radiant upper register and agitated lower grouping in their Transfiguration depictions, as evidenced by Rubens's own sketches referencing Raphael's model of elevated divinity amid human desperation. The work's fame, amplified by its display at Raphael's funeral bier on April 6, 1520, ensured its motifs permeated European altarpieces and prints into the 17th century.

Attribution and Authenticity Questions

Raphael began work on The Transfiguration in 1517, commissioned by Cardinal Giulio de' Medici for the high altar of the cathedral of , but left it unfinished upon his death on April 6, 1520. His pupils, primarily and possibly Giovanni Francesco Penni, completed the painting shortly thereafter, following Raphael's designs and under the direction of his workshop. Historical accounts, including those by in his Lives of the Artists (1550, revised 1568), describe the lower register—depicting the apostles attempting to exorcise a possessed boy—as the portion most reliant on workshop intervention, with Romano's style evident in the figures' dynamic poses and emotional expressions. Attribution to as the principal author remains secure, supported by preparatory drawings, modelli, and underdrawings that align with his mature style, characterized by balanced composition and luminous figures. Technical analyses, including X-radiography from 20th-century restorations, reveal Raphael's pentimenti (corrections) in the upper transfiguration scene, confirming his direct hand in the ethereal depiction of Christ, , and , while the lower scene shows fewer alterations consistent with posthumous completion. These findings have dispelled earlier uncertainties about the extent of Raphael's involvement, affirming the painting's authenticity despite workshop contributions typical of practice. No substantive authenticity debates persist in modern scholarship; claims of or misattribution are absent, as the work's traces directly from Raphael's studio to its 1520 display at his and subsequent installation in the Vatican. Minor scholarly discussions focus on the precise division of labor—e.g., Romano's execution of subsidiary figures—rather than questioning Raphael's authorship, with consensus viewing the finished as a collaborative culmination of his vision rather than a diluted product. This attribution aligns with broader patterns in Raphael's late oeuvre, where workshop assistance increased amid high demand, yet his guiding disegno () ensured stylistic unity.

Modern Conservation and Analyses

The Transfiguration underwent a major restoration in 1977 conducted by experts at the Vatican Pinacoteca, involving the removal of accumulated varnish, dirt, and later overpaints that had obscured the original surface. This process revealed Raphael's intended palette of vivid blues, reds, and luminous whites, enhancing the painting's dramatic contrasts and ethereal glow, particularly in the transfigured Christ and surrounding . The intervention also exposed pentimenti and corrections in the lower register, confirming Raphael's direct hand in adjustments up to his death, while dispelling notions of extensive pupil intervention beyond minor finishing. Diagnostic examinations during the 1977 campaign, including X-radiography, identified a detailed underdrawing consistent with 's preparatory cartoons, such as those for apostles' poses, and evidenced minimal alterations in the upper composition, supporting the view that the Transfiguration scene remained largely as left it. No substantial reworking was found in this upper half, though select areas across the panel exhibit incomplete modeling, attributable to the work's unfinished state at the artist's death on April 6, 1520. These findings reinforced the painting's authenticity to , countering earlier 19th-century skepticism about workshop contributions. Subsequent non-invasive analyses of related materials, such as studies on 16th-century copies, have employed techniques like micro-Raman spectroscopy and portable diffraction to map pigments including for ultramarine blues, for reds, and , aligning with Raphael's documented materials in other Vatican works. Such investigations indirectly inform conservation strategies for the original by highlighting period-specific layering—red-brown grounds over —but direct invasive sampling of the Vatican panel remains restricted to preserve its condition. Ongoing monitoring addresses environmental factors like humidity fluctuations in the Pinacoteca, with periodic cleanings prioritized over aggressive interventions.

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