Kyrie ex Missa Pontificali Perosi Vaticano Altare Transfigurationis ante Opus Raphaelis Urbinatis

Kyrie ex Missa Pontificali Perosi Vaticano Altare Transfigurationis ante Opus Raphaelis Urbinatis

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Kyrie eleison. Christe eleison. Kyrie eleison.

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At the end of the left aisle, on the outside of the St. Andrew pier, there is a mosaic copy of Raphael's "Transfiguration," executed under the supervision of the expert Monosilio from a copy by A. Masucci (an earlier one by S. Pozzi was refused) now in the Loggia of the Benediction.

The painting, left incomplete by Raphael, and finished by G. Romano and F. Penni, was commissioned in 1517 by Cardinal Giulio de' Medici, the future Clement VII, for the Narbonne Cathedral, where he was bishop.

There is, in fact, a certain imbalance between the sublimely conceived and intensely painted upper part, and the lower part in which the expressiveness of the characters is carefully rendered, but exterior aspects of Mannerism also surface in the excessively emphatic attitudes and postures.

This work was considered as Raphael's testament, since it was placed at the head of his death bed "breaking the heart of all who look upon it," as Vasari wrote.

In this chapel it is possible to admire a mosaic reproduction of one of the world's most famous paintings "The Transfiguration" showing Christ on Mount Tabor, Raphael's last painting (1483-1520).

It shows the Lord in a nimbus of bright light, raised in the air with the prophet Elias and Moses, the lawgiver, while the three favored apostles, Peter, James and John gaze on this heavenly scene from earth, wishing that it would last for eternity.

The upper portion of the picture reveals the tranquil ecstasy, the celestial serenity and peace the Lord grants only to those who are with Him and who want to be with Him. The lower part contrasts strongly with the upper. The figures are agitated; they look at the possessed boy whose father is holding him. All are troubled, and they seem to be seeking a human solution to ills of the spirit. Only an apostle, indicating the Lord on the Mount reminds them, the disheartened and discouraged, of the source of salvation.

In the middle, the kneeling woman symbolizes the Church and its task of bringing peace, hope and faith to the victims of evil. Raphael died young, he was only 37. In his final delirium he asked to see his painting for the last time. His friends brought it to him, and placed it on the bed in which he died on Good Friday, 1520.

The same painting was carried at the head of the funeral procession to the Pantheon where the great artist is buried and awaits his own transfiguration.

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