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Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · Hover to magnify, click for fullscreen
Original fileThe Apostles are arranged around a classical stone tomb, expressing varying degrees of awe and contemplation as they look toward the heavens. In the center, Saint Thomas holds the sacred girdle dropped by the Virgin during her ascent, while white lilies and red roses bloom from the earth within the sarcophagus. The scene is set against a serene Umbrian landscape with rolling hills and distant fortifications.
This work depicts the Assumption, a theme that in Renaissance intellectual circles resonated with Neoplatonic concepts of the soul's ascent (Anodos) from the material to the divine realm. Raphael’s composition reflects the transition from medieval symbolism to a High Renaissance order, where the physical transformation of the body into flowers mirrors the spiritualization of matter.
Marsilio Ficino
Ficino's Neoplatonic commentaries on the immortality of the soul and its journey back to the divine source provide a philosophical framework for the theological concept of the Assumption.
The Golden Legend
This text by Jacobus de Voragine is the primary source for the narrative of the flowers appearing in Mary's tomb and the gift of the girdle to Saint Thomas.
Object
Oil on panel
religious
Digital Source
Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
Web Gallery of Art: Image Info about artworkwga QS:P11807,"r/raphael/1early/04oddi02"
1940 × 2950 px
Linked Data
AI AI-cataloged fields generated by gemini-3-flash-preview on April 1, 2026. Getty identifiers are AI-inferred and may require verification.