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

Dome of the Chigi Chapel

1513-15
Fresco and mosaics
Santa Maria del Popolo, Rome

The dome holds an imposing central figure of God the Father, who hovers above the chapel in an audaciously illusionistic pose. The figural decoration of the dome was carried out in mosaics; personifications of the planets are interspersed with gilded stucco ornamentation.