Commissioned from Raphael by Cardinal Giulio de' Medici (the future Clement VII) and worked on from 1516 until the artist's sudden death in April 1520, 'The Transfiguration' was finished by Giulio Romano and Giovanni da Udine. It juxtaposes Christ's radiant ascent on Mount Tabor with Moses and Elijah above, and the disciples' frantic inability to heal the possessed boy below — bound by a vertical drama that yokes the celestial and earthly registers. Universally regarded as Raphael's final testament, it is both a summation of High Renaissance classicism and a starting point for Mannerism.

Exhibition Venue

Pinacoteca Vaticana

Vatican City, Vatican City