RAFFAELLO Sanzio
(b. 1483, Urbino, d. 1520, Roma)

The Crowning of the Virgin (detail)

1502-03
Oil on canvas, transferred from panel
Pinacoteca, Vatican

The altarpiece is divided horizontally into heavenly and earthly spheres. The upper section shows Christ offering a crown to his mother, who is placed above her empty sarcophagus. Confronting her disappearance and replacement by miraculous flowers, the startled apostles are grouped around the massive stone coffin in the panel's lower area.