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About This Work
The composition is split into two realms: the Church Triumphant in heaven and the Church Militant on earth. In the upper tier, the Holy Trinity is flanked by the Virgin Mary, John the Baptist, and various biblical figures seated on clouds; below, famous theologians and popes debate the nature of transubstantiation around an altar. A monstrance containing the Host serves as the central focal point, linking the divine and human spheres.
As a counterpart to Raphael's School of Athens, this work represents the Neoplatonic synthesis of divine revelation and human reason. The hierarchical arrangement of the figures reflects the cosmological structures central to Renaissance Neoplatonism and the intellectual milieu of Pope Julius II's court.