Vasari - The Transfiguration, 1858,1113.31

This pen-and-ink study shows the upper portion of the Transfiguration scene, with a nude Christ figure suspended in a large oval mandorla. Below, the apostles Peter, James, and John are shown in foreshortened poses, shielding their eyes from the celestial radiance. The sketch illustrates Raphael's focus on anatomical precision and geometric composition, using the oval to define the boundary between the earthly and divine realms.

The Transfiguration was a central theme in Renaissance Neoplatonism, symbolizing the 'ascent of the soul' and the manifestation of divine light (lux) as a bridge between the material and intelligible worlds. This specific composition influenced how later esoteric traditions visualized the 'body of light' and the process of spiritual alchemy or theosis.