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. 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). 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). Fifth from right, stands
St. Thomas Aquinas. The monk on the far left is
Fra Angelico.. ==See also==