Loggia di raffaello, 12, 01

The prophet Samuel stands to the right of center, pouring oil from a horn onto the head of the kneeling Saul. A group of men with raised hands observe the ritual against a landscape featuring a distant castle, while a classical river god reclines in the bottom right foreground. This fresco is part of the extensive decorative program of the Vatican Loggia designed by Raphael and executed by his workshop.

As part of the 'Bible of Raphael,' this scene reflects the High Renaissance drive to synthesize biblical history with classical aesthetics, such as the use of a pagan river god to personify a geographic location. It illustrates the Neoplatonic atmosphere of the Vatican under Pope Leo X, where the divine mandate of leadership was framed through both scriptural tradition and classical form.