Disputation of the Holy Sacrament

Fresco by Raphael

Disputation of the Sacrament

Artist| Raphael
Year| 1509–1510
Type| Fresco
Dimensions| 500 cm × 770 cm (200 in × 300 in)
Location| Apostolic Palace, Vatican Museums, Vatican City

The Disputation of the Sacrament (Italian: La disputa del sacramento), or Disputa, is a painting by the Italian Renaissance artist Raphael. It was painted between 1509 and 1510[1] as the first part of Raphael's commission to decorate with frescoes the rooms that are now known as the Stanze di Raffaello, in the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican. At the time, this room was known as the Stanza della Segnatura, and was the private papal library where the supreme papal tribunal met.[2]

## Description

[edit]

In the painting, Raphael has created a scene spanning both heaven and earth. Above, Christ is surrounded by an aureole, flanked by the Blessed Virgin Mary and John the Baptist to his right and left (an arrangement known as the Deësis). Other various biblical figures such as Peter (far left, holding keys), Adam (far left, bared chest), John the Evangelist (left, writing), King David (left, holding lyre), Saint Lawrence (left, wearing purple), Judas Maccabeus (right, wearing gold armor), Stephen (right, wearing green), Moses (right, with horns of light and holding the Ten Commandments), James the Elder (right, wearing white), Abraham (right, holding knife), and Paul (far right, holding book and sword) are to the sides. God the Father sits above them all in the golden light of heaven and adored by angels, blessing with his right hand and holding the Earth in his left. Below Christ's feet is the Holy Spirit in the typical form of a dove, to whose sides are books of the four Gospels held open by putti.[3]

Below, on an altar sits the monstrance. The fringe of the altar reads, "Julius II Pont. Max." The altar is flanked by historical theologians debating Transubstantiation (Christ's presence in the Eucharist).[4] Among them are the original four Doctors of the Church (identified by their names inscribed into their halos), with Pope Gregory I and Jerome seated to the left of the altar and Augustine and Ambrose to the right, along with Pope Julius II, Pope Sixtus IV, Savonarola and Dante Alighieri. Pope Sixtus IV is the gold-dressed pope in the bottom of the painting. Directly behind Sixtus is Dante, wearing red and sporting a laurel wreath (symbolizing his greatness as a poet).[5] Fifth from right, stands St. Thomas Aquinas. The bald figure reading a book in the left hand corner is Raphael's mentor and Renaissance architect Bramante, and the bearded figure on the right side wearing orange and blue robes is Aristotle.[6] The monk on the far left is Fra Angelico.[3] In the background on the left, a church is being constructed, representative of the Catholic Church.[7]

Dante Alighieri.

## See also

[edit]

* List of paintings by Raphael

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Raphael, Phaidon Publishers, 1948, p. 24.
2. ^ Adams, Italian Renaissance Art, p. 344
3. ^ a b "Disputation over the Most Holy Sacrament". Musei Vaticani. Archived from the original on 4 July 2022. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
4. ^ Adams, Italian Renaissance Art, p. 345
5. ^ Adams, Italian Renaissance Art, p. 346
6. ^ Holgate, John Douglas, "Codes and Messages in Raphael's 'School of Athens.'" 2016. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/306398440_Codes_and_Messages_in_Raphael's_'School_of_Athens'
7. ^ Massi, Ercole G. (1885). Compendious Description of the Galleries of Paintings in the Papal Palace of the Vatican. Rome. pp. 67–69.67-69&rft.date=1885&rft.aulast=Massi&rft.aufirst=Ercole+G.&rft_id=https://archive.org/details/compendiousdesc00vatigoog/page/n97/mode/2up&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Disputation+of+the+Holy+Sacrament" class="Z3988">`{{cite book}}`: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

## Sources

[edit]

* Schneider Adams, Laurie (2001). Italian Renaissance Art. Boulder: Westview Press. pp. 344–346.344-346&rft.pub=Westview+Press&rft.date=2001&rft.aulast=Schneider+Adams&rft.aufirst=Laurie&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Disputation+of+the+Holy+Sacrament" class="Z3988">

## External links

[edit]

* Media related to Raphael's Disputation of the Holy Sacrament at Wikimedia Commons
* The Vatican: Spirit and Art of Christian Rome, a book from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on this work

* v
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Raphael

* List of paintings

Early works|

* Baronci Altarpiece (1500–1501)
* Saint Sebastian (1501–1502)
* Resurrection of Christ (1499–1502)
* Mond Crucifixion (1502–1503)
* Madonna and Child with the Book (c. 1503)
* Solly Madonna (c. 1500–1504)
* Oddi Altar (1502–1504)
* Conestabile Madonna (c. 1502–1504)
* Portrait of a Man (c. 1503–1504)
* Vision of a Knight (1503–1504)
* The Marriage of the Virgin (1504)
* Diotallevi Madonna (c. 1504)
* Portrait of Perugino 1 (c. 1504)
* Colonna Altarpiece (c. 1503–1505)
* Saint George (c. 1503–1505)
* Three Graces (c. 1503–1505)
* Saint Michael (c. 1504–1505)

Florentine period|

* Christ Blessing (c. 1502–1504)
* Portrait of Pietro Bembo (c. 1504)
* Portrait of Elisabetta Gonzaga 2 (c. 1504–1505)
* Portrait of Emilia Pia da Montefeltro 2 (c. 1504–1505)
* Small Cowper Madonna (c. 1504–1505)
* Terranuova Madonna (c. 1504–1505)
* Madonna del Granduca (c. 1505)
* Saint George and the Dragon (c. 1505)
* Young Man with an Apple (c. 1505)
* Self-portrait (1504–1506)
* La donna gravida (1505–1506)
* Madonna del Cardellino (c. 1505–1506)
* Young Woman with Unicorn (c. 1505–1506)
* Madonna del Prato (1506)
* Madonna with Beardless Saint Joseph (c. 1506)
* Portrait of Agnolo Doni (c. 1506)
* Portrait of Guidobaldo da Montefeltro (c. 1506)
* Portrait of Maddalena Doni (c. 1506)
* Ansidei Madonna (1505–1507)
* Madonna of the Pinks (c. 1506–1507)
* Bridgewater Madonna (c. 1507–1508)
* The Deposition (1507)
* Madonna of the Baldacchino (c. 1506–1508)
* La belle jardinière (1507–1508) (completed by Ridolfo Ghirlandaio)
* Canigiani Holy Family (c. 1507–1508)
* Colonna Madonna (c. 1507–1508)
* Portrait of a Young Woman (La Muta) (c. 1507–1508)
* Esterhazy Madonna (c. 1508)
* Niccolini-Cowper Madonna (1508)
* Tempi Madonna (1508)
* Saint Catherine of Alexandria (c. 1507–1509)

Roman period|

* Portrait of Tommaso Inghirami (c. 1509)
* Garvagh Madonna (c. 1509–1510)
* Portrait of Cardinal Alessandro Farnese (c. 1509–1511)
* Portrait of a Cardinal (c. 1510–1511)
* Alba Madonna (c. 1511)
* Madonna of Loreto (c. 1511)
* The Prophet Isaiah (1511–1512)
* Madonna of Foligno (c. 1511–1512)
* Portrait of Pope Julius II (1511, 1512)
* Galatea (c. 1512)
* Madonna with the Fish (c. 1512–1514)
* Madonna della Seggiola (c. 1513–1514)
* Madonna of the Candelabra (c. 1513–1514)
* Sistine Madonna (c. 1513–1514)
* Madonna dell'Impannata (c. 1513–1514)
* Madonna della Tenda (c. 1513–1514)
* Portrait of a Young Man (c. 1513–1514)
* Sibyls (1514)
* Portrait of Bindo Altoviti (c. 1512–1515)
* Portrait of Baldassare Castiglione (c. 1514–1515)
* Christ Falling on the Way to Calvary (c. 1514–1516)
* Creation of the World (1516)
* Portrait of Andrea Navagero and Agostino Beazzano (1516)
* Portrait of Cardinal Bibbiena (c. 1516)
* La velata (c. 1516)
* Visitation (c. 1517)
* The Ecstasy of Saint Cecilia (c. 1514–1517)
* Madonna with the Blue Diadem (c. 1510–1518)
* Holy Family of Francis I (1518)
* Saint Michael Vanquishing Satan (1518)
* Ezekiel's Vision (c. 1518)
* Portrait of Doña Isabel de Requesens y Enríquez de Cardona-Anglesola (with Giulio Romano) (c. 1518)
* Saint Margaret and the Dragon (c. 1518)
* La Fornarina (1518–1519)
* Small Holy Family (c. 1518–1519) (with Giulio Romano)
* Portrait of a Young Woman (c. 1518–1519) (with Giulio Romano)
* Transfiguration (1516–1520)
* Madonna de Bogota (c. 1517–1520)
* Portrait of Pope Leo X with Two Cardinals (c. 1518–1520)
* Madonna of the Rose (1518–1520)
* Self-Portrait with a Friend (1518–1520)

Raphael Rooms|

* The Parnassus (1509–1511)
* The School of Athens (1509–1511)
* Disputation of the Holy Sacrament (1510–1511)
* Cardinal and Theological Virtues (1511)
* The Expulsion of Heliodorus from the Temple (1511–1512)
* The Mass at Bolsena (1512–1514)
* The Meeting of Leo the Great and Attila (1513–1514)
* Liberation of Saint Peter (1514)
* The Fire in the Borgo (c. 1514–1517) (executed by Giulio Romano)

Tapestry cartoons|

* Miraculous Draught of Fishes (1514–1516)
* Christ's Charge to Peter (1514–1516)
* Healing of the Lame Man (1514–1516)
* Death of Ananias (1514–1516)
* Conversion of the Proconsul (1514–1516)
* Sacrifice at Lystra (1514–1516)
* Saint Paul Preaching in Athens (1514–1516)

Drawings|

* Lucretia (1500s)
* Adoration of the Shepherds (c. 1508)

Sculptures|

* Jonah (1520) (executed by Lorenzetto)
* Elijah (c. 1520–1524) (executed by Lorenzetto and Raffaello da Montelupo)

Buildings|

* Chigi Chapel (1507–1520) (continued by other architects)
* Palazzo Jacopo da Brescia (1515–1519)
* Palazzo Branconio dell'Aquila (c. 1520)
* Sant'Eligio degli Orefici (1509–1575) (completed by Baldassare Peruzzi and Bastiano da Sangallo)
* Villa Madama (1518–1525) (completed by Antonio da Sangallo the Younger and other disciples)
* Villa Farnesina (decoration)

Related|

* Giovanni Santi (father)
* Imperia Cognati (mistress and model)
* Margarita Luti (mistress and model)
* Giulio Romano (disciple and collaborator)
* Raphael and La Fornarina (1813 painting)
* Raphael (1894 opera)
* La Fornarina (1944 film)
* Raffaello Multi-Purpose Logistics Module
* SS Raffaello
* Raphael (crater)
* Vatican loggias

* 1 Also attributed to Lorenzo di Credi
* 2 Attributed

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF

National|

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Other|

* IdRef

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