The Expulsion of Heliodorus from the Temple 1512

Raphael painted ‘The Expulsion of Heliodorus from the Temple’ around 1512 within the Vatican’s Palazzo Apostolico. The fresco’s composition bursts with dynamic movement, organized around a central vanishing point that draws the eye deep into the temple’s architecture. Raphael uses colour and form to create a powerful narrative contrast. On one side, the cool, collected tones surrounding the Pope and his entourage provide a stark contrast to the chaotic, warm hues engulfing Heliodorus and his men as they are driven out by divine forces. The architectural perspective, with its receding arches and precisely placed figures, not only showcases Raphael’s mastery of spatial illusion but also reinforces the thematic division between the sacred and the profane. The dramatic expulsion, rendered with dynamic lines and foreshortened figures, serves as a potent symbol of divine justice. This fresco is not merely a depiction of a biblical event, but a sophisticated commentary on power, faith, and the consequences of transgression.