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Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · Hover to magnify, click for fullscreen
Original fileThis pen-and-ink drawing depicts a group of figures expressing profound grief through varied physical gestures. In the foreground, a seated female figure is shown with her hands tightly interlocked and her gaze directed upward, while the surrounding figures stand in poses of quiet contemplation and distress. The artist uses delicate cross-hatching and fluid contours to define the volume of the drapery and the emotional intensity of the scene.
The drawing illustrates the High Renaissance effort to depict 'moti mentali' or 'affetti'—the outward physical manifestation of internal spiritual and emotional states. This concept was deeply rooted in the Neoplatonic thought of the era, which saw the human form as a mirror of the soul's movements and divine passions.
Marsilio Ficino
Raphael's exploration of emotional gestures aligns with Ficino's Neoplatonic theories regarding the soul's internal movements and their expression through the body.
Object
Oil on panel
religious
Digital Source
Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/search?agent=Raphael&technique=drawn&view=grid&sort=object_name__asc&page=1
1756 × 2500 px
Linked Data
AI AI-cataloged fields generated by gemini-3-flash-preview on March 31, 2026. Getty identifiers are AI-inferred and may require verification.