History
This painting was created by Raphael and was believed to express a connection between God and his people.
The Transfiguration was created in 1516 and is another high end altarpiece. It was commissioned by Cardinal Giulio de Medici who was made archbishop of Narbonne and became Pope Clement VII.
At the time when Raphael was commissioned to paint the Transfiguration he was still doing the other commissions, the Stanze and the cartoons of the life of St Peter, three palaces and a villa. So Giulio de Medici commissioned Sebastiano del Piombo to paint the “Raising of Lazarus” to spur Raphael on.
At the time of his death, "the artist 'who lived more like a prince than a painter' lay in state for a couple of days at his house in the Borgo, with the famous Transfiguration, left unfinished at Raphael's death, at his head."
Following Raphael's premature death in 1520, the cardinal retained the picture rather than send it to France. He subsequently donated it to the church of San Pietro in Montorio, Rome. It was taken by French troops to Paris in 1797, but after 1815 it was brought to the Vatican, to its present location.
A mosaic copy of the painting was installed in St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican City in 1774.
Read more about this topic: Transfiguration (Raphael)
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