Raphael's Disputation

The Disputation over the Blessed Sacrament (or more appropriately, The Triumph of Religion), painted by Raphael between 1508 and 1511, represents Christianity’s victory over and the transformation of the multiple philosophical tendencies shown in the School of Athens fresco on the opposite wall. The theologians of the Disputation are not gathered in a vaulted temple like the philosophers of the School. Instead, their bodies make up the Church’s architecture. They form one body, united in an ethereal apse flanking the Trinity and the Eucharist, that when consecrated becomes the body of Christ.

“Raphael’s ability surpasses even his legend,” says Prof. Arnold Nesselrath, Director of the Department of Byzantine, Medieval and Modern Art, who has led the restorations of the School of Athens and the Parnassus frescoes. These frescoes are located in the Stanza della Segnatura, the library of the Julius II in the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace. Raphael’s quick and confident execution is a sign of his mature style, which departs from that of his teacher, Perugino. Like Michelangelo, he creates lights and shadows within the tones of a single color, and combines color in a dramatic manner. His mastery of the brush is now evident in the idealized portraits that represent key figures from the Old and New Testaments, saints, Doctors of the Church, theologians and literary personages,

The Vatican Museums restorers found the fresco in good condition with no over-paintings and have thus limited their efforts to cleaning and repairing structural damage. The wall behind the fresco had originally supported a fireplace, which was later removed and placed in the Stanza with the fresco. The heat created many cracks and caused the wall to swell. Raphael’s colors were not lost but the wall expanded slightly causing damage, such as two fissures in St. Thomas Aquinas’ portrait. The restorers filled the fissures with lighter tones to make them less apparent. The new restoration has been made possible thanks to the generosity of a patron of the New York Chapter.

They also discovered damage to the portraits of Sixtus IV and St. Gregory the Great, done by the mercenaries of Charles V during the sack of Rome in 1527. The names of Martin Luther and Charles V are etched on the fresco and provide a testimony of this sad event that decimated half of the Roman population.

A chronological issue was resolved with this restoration, as well. There had been a debate among art historians as to whether Raphael first painted The School of Athens or The Disputation when he began to work in the Stanza. According to Professor Nesselrath it now seems more likely Raphael began with The School of Athens. The restorers were also able to determine that portions of the decorations in the Stanza, such as the two monochrome chiaroscuri under the Parnassus were painted during the reign of Julius II, and not under his successor Leo X, as was previously believed.