The Transfiguration Altarpiece is an altarpiece of the

Transfiguration of Jesus The Transfiguration of Jesus is an event described in the New Testament where Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is Transfiguration (religion), transfigured and becomes radiant in Glory (religion), glory upon a mountain. The Synoptic Gospels (, , ) r ...

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

, dating to 1517 and now in the Galleria Nazionale dell'Umbria in

Perugia Perugia ( , ; ; ) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber. The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and part of the valleys around the area. It has 162,467 ...

. 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 and the

Servites The Servite Order, officially known as the Order of Servants of Mary (; abbreviation: OSM), is one of the five original mendicant orders in the Roman Catholic Church. It includes several branches of friars (priests and brothers), contemplative nun ...

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 pose within a double mandorla and a ring of

seraphim A seraph ( ; pl.: ) is a Angelic being, celestial or heavenly being originating in Ancient Judaism. The term plays a role in subsequent Judaism, Islam and Christianity. Tradition places seraphim in the highest rank in Christian angelology and ...

. Beside him are

Moses In Abrahamic religions, Moses was the Hebrews, Hebrew prophet who led the Israelites out of slavery in the The Exodus, Exodus from ancient Egypt, Egypt. He is considered the most important Prophets in Judaism, prophet in Judaism and Samaritani ...

and

Elijah Elijah ( ) or Elias was a prophet and miracle worker who lived in the northern kingdom of Israel during the reign of King Ahab (9th century BC), according to the Books of Kings in the Hebrew Bible. In 1 Kings 18, Elijah defended the worsh ...

, 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 ( ; ; ) is a chapel in the Apostolic Palace, the pope's official residence in Vatican City. Originally known as the ''Cappella Magna'' ('Great Chapel'), it takes its name from Pope Sixtus IV, who had it built between 1473 and ...

. It is also directly influenced by his Collegio del Cambio Transfiguration 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

Collection of the Galleria Nazionale dell'Umbria