Rafael Santa Cecilia. 05

At the center of the composition, Saint Cecilia gazes upward as she lets a portable organ slip from her hands, signifying a shift from earthly to divine music. At her feet lie various discarded and broken instruments, including a viola da gamba and recorders, while the surrounding saints reflect different modes of contemplation. Mary Magdalene stands to the right, looking directly at the viewer while holding her characteristic ointment jar.

This painting is a primary visual expression of the Neoplatonic hierarchy of music, contrasting 'musica instrumentalis' (lowly, earthly sounds represented by the broken instruments) with 'musica mundana' (the divine harmony of the spheres). It reflects the Renaissance philosophical interest in spiritual transcendence and the belief that the soul can ascend to the divine through the rejection of material sensory experiences.