The Transfiguration

Raphael's last painting — found unfinished in his studio when he died on his 37th birthday, carried at the head of his funeral procession through Rome. Upper half: Christ transfigured in white radiance. Lower half: the Apostles failing to cure an epileptic boy — the contrast between divine light and human helplessness became one of the most discussed compositional principles in art. Vasari: 'The sight of it filled with grief the heart of every person who beheld it.'