"The Transfiguration of Christ"

The Transfiguration constitutes a pivotal moment in the life of Christ, in which his divinity is acknowledged. Having ascended Mount Tabor with the apostles Peter, James, and John, Christ is suddenly transfigured: his face is illuminated by a brilliant light, and his garments turn white, starkly contrasting with the surrounding deep shadows. The prophets Elijah and Moses speak with Christ in an apparition as the apostles look on in awe, their bodies dramatically foreshortened in the foreground. This episode takes place at the threshold between heaven and earth and, similarly, highlights Christ’s status as both divine and human. Titian was always aware of conceiving an image in terms of its own environment; the Transfiguration is probably one of his most dramatic coups de théâtre.