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About This Work
The central painting depicts Saint Cecilia in a state of religious rapture, looking upward at a choir of angels while her portative organ slips from her hands. At her feet lie several broken musical instruments, including a viola da gamba and cymbals, symbolizing the inferiority of earthly sound. She is flanked by Saints Paul, John the Evangelist, Augustine, and Mary Magdalene, while Raphael's 'Saint John the Baptist' is visible to the right.
The central work is a key visual expression of Renaissance Neoplatonism, specifically the hierarchy of music. It illustrates the transition from 'musica instrumentalis' (material, audible music) to 'musica mundana' (the silent, divine harmony of the spheres), a concept central to the thought of Marsilio Ficino and the Pythagorean tradition.