The Argument of the Blessed Sacrament

the Argument of the Blessed Sacrament of Raphaël, fourth fresco of the room of the Signature, is painted between 1509 and 1510.

It is the painter Vasari who gives to this work his name, a little improperly since if it can be question of a theological argument, i.e. an intense discussion, in the lower register, on the other hand the higher register functions more like one glorification of the triumphing celestial Church. The title of work could thus just as easily have been the Triumph of the Church .

General direction of work

The fresco seeks to represent in painting what one could call theological Truth, compared to philosophical Truth that incarnates opposite him the Fresque of the École of Athens . In the Christian tradition this theological Truth is incarnated in the Eucharistie, gesture of thanksgiving that the Christ bequeaths to her disciples in memory of him, little time before its passion. Consequently, all the service of the Church of Christ on ground turns around this supreme act, like means of redemption but also of relation with divine including/understanding God the celestial trinitaire, powers and the saints of all times. It is thus this theological reality complexes which Raphaël undertakes to represent in this fresco which must, as it is intended for the office and the library of the pope Jules II, being like a support with the contemplation of the mystery of the Church on ground and in the skies.

Description

Composition

The fresco is circumscribed in a vault and proposes, like the majority of works of Raphaël, a rigorous composition which judiciously exploits the shape in arc of circle which accommodates it, since the circular reason is omnipresent in work. Upwards, it initially crystallizes in the Blessed Sacrament, present on the furnace bridge and which constitutes as the center of the circle by which the half-circle of the vault passes, which confirms its statute of subject of work, then one finds it in aureole around the dove, traditional symbol of the Saint Spirit, in great aureole of the Christ, in the shape of a sphere in the hand of the Père, while appearing on the majority of the holy in aureole at their head; finally, the saints and the great figures of the Old Testament are placed in arc of circle around the Trinité, while the sky is composed of a vast luminous vault of heaven which makes echo in inversion with the circle which surrounds Christ. This omnipresence of the circular form is explained in what ontological preeminence and the perfection of the circle answer not only one ancient tradition, but also Christian and more particularly of the Rebirth which sees in the circle the geometrical form most accomplished. One can also see in this concern of the circular provision of the elements in painting like the chorus of a church, the furnace bridge and Blessed Sacrament forming as many elements to suggest that.

Composition MIME besides theological distinction of the sky and the ground in particular on this criterion of differentiation which is the presence of the circular form. Indeed, if the circle is omnipresent in the skies, accompanied not a harmony marked in the distribution by the figures of “the Church triumphing”, which gathers prophets, apostles and saints around the Holy Trinity, on the other hand bottom over the table is organized in a horizontal way, and the characters of “the militant Church”, Doctorss of the Church, pontiffs and faithful, are gathered with good less coherence and of harmony, even in the tumult and animation. One can recognize many figures besides among these characters laid out on both sides of a furnace bridge dominating a vast landscape: all raise singular positions, indicating the concern for Raphaël for a certain naturalness.

The terrestrial register

Directly beside the furnace bridge are the Doctorss of the Church of the first times of Christianity with on the left Saint Gregoire (under the features of Jules II) and Saint Jerome accompanied by his lion and on the right holy Augustin and Saint Ambroise: the four doctors, contrary to the other characters, sitting, which already brings them closer to the characters located in the skies; one in addition distinguishes two posterior doctors who are Saint Thomas and Saint Bonaventure. The popes Innocent III (1160 - 1216 the most powerful pope of the Middle Ages which establish the political independence of Rome) and Sixte IV (1414 - 1471 Francesco della Rovere of its name, it embellishes Rome significantly) côtoient of the monks like Dominican the Savonarole (instigator in 1494 with Florence of a political revolution (return to the Republic) and morals (rechristianisation) or the painter FRA Angelico (contemporary of Savonarole, admired for its frescos and its paintings sublimes) whom accompany Dante, of which the Divine comedy had an influence on theology with the Middle Ages, FRA Angelico very close to the furnace bridge, Bramante, the famous architect of the Basilique Saint-Pierre, or Francesco Maria della Rovere, presented under features similar to those of Léonard de Vinci and which points the Blessed Sacrament in a light and gracious swaying walk.

It will be noted that the characters are laid out with a variable distance compared to the Blessed Sacrament, which is this presence of God on ground, this contact point between the two Churches terrestrial and celestial, but that the doctors of the Église are with nearest, sitting vis-a-vis the furnace bridge, that the other essential figures of the history of the Church are a little in withdrawal, upright, but always directed towards the furnace bridge and that the laic artists and other characters are them on the sides, with positions more ambivalent, skew even of back, thus meaning the diversity of the reports/ratios with God on ground. The scene is very animated, and perhaps if one speaks about argument according to a a little inaccurate interpretation of Vasari, one sees that the term is not completely inappropriate to characterize the atmosphere which this releases from the terrestrial register of the fresco. Far from the Holy conversation, of which the exchange is more of a mystical nature than intellectual, the characters all seem here busy, exchanging remarks, gesticulant, pointing the sky, other characters or Blessed Sacrament, or turning their attention on some writings. The intention is here undoubtedly to represent the intense theological activity of definition and theorization of the mystery which Blessed Sacrament constituteconstitutes. The many books represented certainly also take part of this effort of conceptual development which gives body to the militant Church, and whose pope Jules II, for which is painted this work, is the continuator.

The celestial register

Contrary to the terrestrial register, animated and almost disordered, the celestial register harmoniously distributes, in a half-circle, the remarkable figures of the Church triumphing, accompanied by their traditional attributes and all installed peacefully over seats of clouds, equipped clothes coloured specifically for each one. At the ends of the half-circle holy Pierre and holy Paul face, a little as if they were the guards external of the triumphing Church, agents at the same time of the key and the letter of this one. At the same time holy Pierre being the first Pope, his position brings it closer to the pope Jules II indeed in function. The Old Testament is represented by Adam which deals with Abraham, Moïse compared to the King David and Judas Maccabée vis-a-vis the prophet Jérémie. The New Testament is represented as for him by the apostles holy Paul and holy already evoked Pierre, by holy Jean the Evangelist (writer of the mystical Évangile) who deals with holy Mathieu (writer of the synoptic Gospel basic), by Saint Laurent and holy Etienne (both saints martyrs).

As much to say that all the great figures and the great moments of the history of the Church are represented here: patriarchs, large legislators, kings, prophets, evangelists, apostles, holy martyrs; and this, in a coherent order, alternating the figures of the ages of the Old Testament and the New Testament and putting face to face characters whose prerogatives were rather similar. Coherence is also temporal, since if each age respectively is taken, one realizes that the oldest figures in each age are placed on the ends.

The form angelica is omnipresent in the skies (in the clouds, around Christ, in the rising rays). Twice three angels are each side of the Father, each one raising a different color, possible symbols of the three theological or cardinal virtues, or even of the holy Trinity. Lastly, four angels carry each one a Evangile.

The trinity is represented in an order harmonious, coherent, with the vertical compared to Blessed Sacrament. Perhaps the vertical provision of the Trinité answers a concern of representing the ascending interior course of faithful in its discovery of the faith. The Contemplation of the Blessed Sacrament leads to the reading of the Évangile and living the Holy Spirit, which results in highest imitating the Christ, which brings finally the believer to the Père itself, located at the point of the table. Christ remains however by her preeminent position the center of work, guides absolute triumphing and militant Churches, surrounded in accordance with the iconographic tradition of the Virgin Mary and Saint Jean-Baptiste, while the Père seems as in withdrawal, marking perhaps thus her inaccessible character without the mediation of Christ.

Raphaël

Gallery

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