The Transfiguration

Raphael’s last painting

Cardinal Giulio de’ Medici, later Pope Clement VII, commissioned The Transfiguration for the cathedral of Narbonne in France. Raphael worked on it from 1516 until his death in April 1520. The huge panel was placed above his body as he lay in state.

It was never sent to France. It belongs to the Pinacoteca Vaticana in Vatican City.

Two stories in one picture

The painting combines two episodes that the Gospels tell one after the other. Above, on Mount Tabor, Christ is transfigured in glory before three apostles. Below, the other apostles fail to heal a boy possessed by a demon, whom Christ later cures.

Christ rising in light

Christ floats in a cloud of light with his arms raised, flanked by Moses and Elijah. Below him, Peter, James and John fall to the ground, dazzled.

The possessed boy

In the lower half, a boy with rolling eyes and twisted limbs is held by his father. His wild gesture points upwards towards Christ, connecting the two halves of the picture.

On the left, the apostles argue and gesture, unable to help. Some point up to the mountain.

A kneeling woman at the centre

In the foreground, a woman kneels with her back to us, pointing at the boy. Her twisting figure and bright dress draw the eye into the drama below.

A competition with Sebastiano del Piombo

Cardinal Giulio de’ Medici commissioned two altarpieces for Narbonne at the same time: The Transfiguration from Raphael and The Raising of Lazarus from Sebastiano del Piombo, a Venetian painter supported by Michelangelo. The commission became a contest between the two rival camps in Rome. Raphael’s painting won such admiration that it was never sent to France. It stayed in Rome.

Two Gospel stories in one picture

The upper part shows the Transfiguration: on Mount Tabor, Christ appears in dazzling light to three apostles, between the prophets Moses and Elijah. The lower part shows the next episode in the Gospels: the other apostles fail to heal a boy possessed by a demon, while his family begs for help. Christ will heal him when he comes down from the mountain.

The combination contrasts divine glory above with human confusion below. Only by looking up to Christ, the painting suggests, can suffering be healed.

A drama of gestures

The lower half is full of pointing hands. Apostles point to the boy, to each other and upward to Christ. The boy’s family points to him, his eyes rolling and arms thrown wide. The kneeling woman at the centre points towards the apostles. These gestures lead the eye around the scene and finally up to the radiant figure of Christ.

The dramatic contrast of light and dark in the lower half anticipates Baroque painting by almost a century.

Raphael’s death

Raphael died on 6 April 1520, his thirty-seventh birthday, after a short illness. The painting stood at the head of his body as he lay in state, and visitors were moved by the contrast between the living painting and the dead painter. Some parts of the lower half may have been completed by his pupils, especially Giulio Romano, after his death.

Where to see it

The Transfiguration hangs in the Pinacoteca Vaticana in Vatican City. Napoleon’s troops took it to Paris in 1797; it returned in 1815. Our hand-painted oil reproduction follows this composition. You can also read about Raphael’s Sistine Madonna.

Questions about The Transfiguration

Was it Raphael’s last work?

Yes. He was working on it when he died in 1520.

Where is it?

Pinacoteca Vaticana, Vatican City.

Why are there two scenes?

It combines the Transfiguration and the healing of the possessed boy, which follow each other in the Gospels.

How large is it?

About 405 × 278 centimetres, tempera and oil on panel.

Who was Raphael’s rival for the commission?

Sebastiano del Piombo, who painted The Raising of Lazarus.

Did Raphael finish it himself?

Largely, but pupils such as Giulio Romano may have completed parts after his death.

Sources and image credit

• Vatican Museums: Pinacoteca
• Wikimedia Commons: The Transfiguration (Google Art Project)

Public-domain reproduction of The Transfiguration (1516 to 1520), via Wikimedia Commons. Detail images are crops of the same image; no reconstruction or upscaling.