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Original fileChrist is seated centrally in a golden mandorla of light, flanked by the Virgin Mary and John the Baptist. Above him, God the Father presides over the scene holding a globe, while below, the Holy Spirit descends as a dove toward four cherubim who hold open the four Gospels. The composition is arranged in a strict vertical hierarchy, reflecting the descent of divine wisdom from the heavens to the earthly realm.
Located in the Stanza della Segnatura, this work serves as the theological counterpart to 'The School of Athens.' It illustrates the Renaissance Neoplatonic concept of the hierarchy of being and the harmony between divine revelation (Theology) and human reason (Philosophy).
SECVNDV M MAT THAEVM LIBER GENERA TIONIS IESV C INITIV M EVANGE LII IESV CHRISTI SECVN DVM LVCAM FVIT IN DIE BVS HE RODIS REGIS SECVN DVM IOANNEM IN PRIN CIPIO ER AT VERB VM ET VE RBVM ER
Translation
According to Matthew: The book of the generation of Jesus Christ... The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ... According to Luke: There was in the days of Herod the king... According to John: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was...
Marsilio Ficino
Ficino's Neoplatonic theories on the hierarchy of the soul and the celestial spheres influenced the structured composition of the Stanza della Segnatura.
St. Thomas Aquinas
The fresco depicts the mystery of the Eucharist, a subject central to Aquinas's 'Summa Theologica' and his hymns for Corpus Christi.
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.