Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · Hover to magnify, click for fullscreen
Original fileDisputation of the Holy Sacrament
Disputation of the Holy Sacramentlabel QS:Les,"La disputa del Sacramento"label QS:Lbn,"লা দিসপুতা দেল সাক্রামেন্তো"label QS:Lfr,"La Dispute du Saint-Sacrement"label QS:Lhe,"מחלוקת הסקרמנט"label QS:Lde,"Disput über das Sakrament"label QS:Lpt,"Disputa do Santíssimo Sacramento (Rafael)"label QS:Lmk,"Расправа за светата тајна"label QS:Lhy,"Բանավեճ (գեղանկար)"label QS:Lzh,"圣礼的争辩"label QS:Lel,"Η Έριδα περί την Θεία Ευχαριστία"label QS:Lsl,"Sporočilo svetega zakramenta"label QS:Lja,"聖体の論議"label QS:Luk,"Диспут святого таїнства"label QS:Lnl,"Dispuut over het Heilige Sacrament"label QS:Lth,"การโต้แย้งเรื่องศีลศักดิ์สิทธิ์"label QS:Lpl,"Dysputa o Najświętszym Sakramencie"label QS:Lnb,"Disputa"label QS:Laz,"Müqəddəs ayinlə bağlı mübahisə"label QS:Lit,"Disputa del Sacramento"label QS:Lsv,"Disputa"label QS:Lsk,"Dišputa"label QS:Lfi,"Väittely pyhästä sakramentista"label QS:Len,"Disputation of the Holy Sacrament"label QS:Leo,"Disputo pri la Sankta Sakramento"label QS:Lcs,"Disputace o Svátosti oltářní"label QS:Lru,"Диспута"
About This Work
The composition is divided into a celestial upper realm and a terrestrial lower realm, unified by a vertical axis of the Trinity descending toward an altar. In the heavens, Christ is flanked by the Virgin Mary and John the Baptist, while below, prominent theologians, popes, and poets surround a golden monstrance containing the Host. Notable figures on the ground include the Four Doctors of the Church—Gregory, Jerome, Ambrose, and Augustine—alongside the laurel-crowned Dante Alighieri.
Commissioned for the Stanza della Segnatura, this work serves as the theological counterpart to 'The School of Athens,' illustrating the Neoplatonic reconciliation of divine revelation with human reason. The hierarchical arrangement reflects Renaissance concepts of the 'Great Chain of Being' and the celestial hierarchies of Pseudo-Dionysius.