Raffaello, resurrezione di cristo, 1499-1502, 12

A soldier dressed in an orange tunic and a lavender turban sits on the ground, shielding his eyes with one hand as he gazes upward in shock. To his left, a small serpent slithers through the grass, while the corner of a white marble sarcophagus decorated with a red panel and a gilded lion-foot base occupies the right side of the frame.

The inclusion of the serpent at the base of the tomb symbolizes the 'Old Adam' or the fall of man being overcome by Christ's triumph over death. This theme of the soul's ascent and victory over material corruption resonates with the Neoplatonic concept of the 'palingenesis' or spiritual rebirth often discussed in Ficino’s Florentine academy.