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Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · Hover to magnify, click for fullscreen
Original fileThis pen-and-ink drawing depicts a muscular, bearded figure of the Divine gesturing downward with a forceful, commanding expression. He is enveloped in a swirling mass of clouds and supported by several small figures, including a prominent winged angel on the right. The energetic, rapid lines capture a sense of sudden movement and the overwhelming power of a supernatural revelation.
As a study for the Vatican frescoes, this work represents the High Renaissance attempt to visualize the 'theophany'—the direct manifestation of God to man. It aligns with Neoplatonic ideas of divine illumination and the 'furor divinus,' where the artist attempts to translate the infinite and invisible nature of the Creator into a tangible, heroic human form.
Exodus
The biblical account of God's appearance to Moses in the burning bush and the whirlwind is the primary source for this iconography.
Marsilio Ficino
Ficino's Neoplatonic theories on the hierarchy of light and divine visions shaped the intellectual climate in which Raphael depicted theophanies.
Object
Oil on panel
religious
Digital Source
Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
https://collections.ashmolean.org/
800 × 603 px
Linked Data
AI AI-cataloged fields generated by gemini-3-flash-preview on April 2, 2026. Getty identifiers are AI-inferred and may require verification.