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Original fileThe artwork is divided into two distinct horizontal registers. The upper portion shows Christ and the Holy Spirit as a dove surrounded by six seated Camaldolese saints on clouds, while the lower portion features six standing saints flanking a central arched niche containing a statue of the Madonna and Child. The figures are identified by Latin inscriptions below their feet, and God the Father appears at the very top holding a book with the Alpha and Omega.
This fresco is a significant early example of Raphael’s development of the 'Disputa' theme, where theological hierarchies are represented through geometric, celestial ordering. It reflects the High Renaissance effort to harmonize Christian dogma with Neoplatonic concepts of the divine triad and the intellectual ladder of the saints.
Α Ω S·MAVRVS S·PLACIDVS·M S·BENEDICTVS | S·ROMVALDVS S·BENEDICTVS·V·M S·IOANN·M S·SCHOLASTICA S·HIERONIMVS S·IOANNES·EV S·GREGORIVS·MAGNVS S·BONIFATIVS S·MARTHA RAPHAEL DE VRBINO ... MDV PETRVS DE CASTRO PLEBIS PERVSINVS ... MDXXI
Translation
Alpha and Omega. St. Maurus, St. Placidus Martyr, St. Benedict | St. Romuald, St. Benedict Virgin Martyr, St. John Martyr. St. Scholastica, St. Jerome, St. John the Evangelist, St. Gregory the Great, St. Boniface, St. Martha. Raphael of Urbino [painted this in] 1505. Peter [Perugino] of Città della Pieve [painted this in] 1521.
Raphael, 'Disputation of the Holy Sacrament'
This fresco is the stylistic and thematic prototype for Raphael's later masterpiece in the Vatican, exploring the visual representation of the Trinity.
Marsilio Ficino
The tripartite division of the heavens and the hierarchical arrangement of souls reflects Ficino's Neoplatonic synthesis of Christian theology.
Object
Oil on panel
religious
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.