The Transfiguration Altarpiece is an altarpiece of the

Transfiguration of Jesus In the New Testament, the Transfiguration of Jesus is an event where Jesus is transfigured and becomes radiant in glory upon a mountain. The Synoptic Gospels (, , ) describe it, and the Second Epistle of Peter also refers to it (). In these a ...

Perugino Pietro Perugino (, ; – 1523), born Pietro Vannucci, was an Italian Renaissance painter of the Umbrian school, who developed some of the qualities that found classic expression in the High Renaissance. Raphael was his most famous pupil. Ear ...

, dating to 1517 and now in the

Galleria Nazionale dell'Umbria The Galleria Nazionale dell'Umbria (English: National Gallery of Umbria) the Italian national paintings collection of Umbria, housed in the Palazzo dei Priori, Perugia, in central Italy. Located on the upper floors of the Palazzo dei Priori, the ex ...

Perugia Perugia (, , ; lat, Perusia) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber, and of the province of Perugia. The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and part o ...

. It was probably produced for Santa Maria dei Servi church in Perugia, where it remained until 1542. This church was one of the most notable in the city and housed the chapels of the Baglioni family and other notable families in the city. It was demolished in the 1540s to make way for the moat of the

Rocca Paolina The Rocca Paolina was a Renaissance fortress in Perugia, built in 1540-1543 for Pope Paul III to designs by Antonio da Sangallo the Younger. It destroyed a large number of Etruscan, Roman and medieval buildings, including the Baglioni family's h ...

and the

Servites The Servite Order, officially known as the Order of Servants of Mary ( la, Ordo Servorum Beatae Mariae Virginis; abbreviation: OSM), is one of the five original Catholic mendicant orders. It includes several branches of friars (priests and brothe ...

moved to the church of Santa Maria Nuova with their large collection of artworks, including ''Transfiguration'', which was moved into that church's Graziani chapel, where it stayed until moving to its present home in 1863.Entry on Fondazionezeri.unibo.it
/ref> The upper register shows Christ standing on a cloud in a

contrapposto ''Contrapposto'' () is an Italian term that means "counterpoise". It is used in the visual arts to describe a human figure standing with most of its weight on one foot, so that its shoulders and arms twist off-axis from the hips and legs in the a ...

pose within a double

mandorla A mandorla is an almond-shaped aureola, i.e. a frame that surrounds the totality of an iconographic figure. It is usually synonymous with '' vesica'', a lens shape. Mandorlas often surround the figures of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary in trad ...

and a ring of

seraphim A seraph (, "burning one"; plural seraphim ) is a type of celestial or heavenly being originating in Ancient Judaism. The term plays a role in subsequent Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Tradition places seraphim in the highest rank in Chris ...

. Beside him are

Moses Moses hbo, מֹשֶׁה, Mōše; also known as Moshe or Moshe Rabbeinu (Mishnaic Hebrew: מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ, ); syr, ܡܘܫܐ, Mūše; ar, موسى, Mūsā; grc, Mωϋσῆς, Mōÿsēs () is considered the most important pro ...

and

Elijah Elijah ( ; he, אֵלִיָּהוּ, ʾĒlīyyāhū, meaning "My God is Yahweh/YHWH"; Greek form: Elias, ''Elías''; syr, ܐܸܠܝܼܵܐ, ''Elyāe''; Arabic: إلياس or إليا, ''Ilyās'' or ''Ilyā''. ) was, according to the Books of ...

, kneeling on the same cloud. In the lower register are the apostles John (kneeling), Peter and James (to the right). In the background is a landscape. The composition largely reworks existing drawings made by Perugino, with the two registers and the mandorla originally used in his now lost ''Assumption'' in the

Sistine Chapel The Sistine Chapel (; la, Sacellum Sixtinum; it, Cappella Sistina ) is a chapel in the Apostolic Palace, the official residence of the pope in Vatican City. Originally known as the ''Cappella Magna'' ('Great Chapel'), the chapel takes its name ...

. It is also directly influenced by his

Collegio del Cambio Transfiguration The Collegio del Cambio frescos are a series of allegorical fresco paintings in the Audience Chamber (Sala delle Udienze) of the Collegio del Cambio in Perugia, painted by Perugino. History In 1452 the Arte del Cambio was authorised to set up a he ...

fresco in the Sala delle Udienze del Collegio del Cambio, also in Perugia.

References

Bibliography

* Vittoria Garibaldi, ''Perugino'', in ''Pittori del Rinascimento'', Scala, Florence, 2004 * R. Van Marle ''The Development of the Italian Schools of painting'', 1923-1938, volume XIV, p. 388. {{Authority control Altarpieces Paintings by Pietro Perugino 1517 paintings

Collections of the Galleria Nazionale dell'Umbria