Crowning of the Virgin (Oddi Altarpiece)

Start with the flowers in the open tomb. The men gathered around it are the apostles, the followers of Jesus. Some peer inside, while others look up. Above them, Christ places a crown on Mary, his mother, among angels playing music. Raphael painted this Crowning of the Virgin between 1502 and 1504, near the beginning of his career. The two groups give you a clear way into the picture, from a tomb on earth to a ceremony in heaven. The painting was made for the Oddi Chapel in San Francesco al Prato in Perugia. An altarpiece stood at an altar, where people gathered for religious services. Here, the flowers refer to the Christian tradition that Mary was taken into heaven. Thomas, one of the apostles, holds the sash associated with that story. French forces took the work to Paris in 1797. After its return following 1815, Pope Pius VII placed it in the Vatican painting collection.