Abstract
Recognized as an attempt to reconcile contemporary artistic trends with the traditional function of altarpieces, Raphael's Transfiguration embodies the stakes inherent in the shift from icon to narrative in early cinquecento religious painting. Reading it as a visio-devotional program makes sense of its combination of two unrelated narrative subjects—long an interpretative puzzle—which together embody an ascent from physical appearances to spiritual, imageless contemplation. A consideration of exegetical texts and the period's theology of vision shows that the altarpiece points, through its presentation of the transfigured Christ, toward the ultimate goal of all devotion: the beatific vision.
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