Four Biblical Scenes

The Stanza dell'Eliodoro is a room in the Vatican palace, named for the main work on one of the walls: The Expulsion of Heliodorus from the Temple. The ceiling is worthwhile too, showing four scenes from the Old Testament on the subject of devine intervention.

Clockwise, starting at the top:

• God appears to Noah (Genesis 6:14)
• Abraham wants to Sacrifice Isaac (Genesis 22:10)
• Moses and the Burning Bush (Exodus 3:2)
• Jacob's Ladder (Genesis 28:12)

Compared with Raphael's earlier work, these paintings are more expressive and more menacing. Raphael wanted it made perfectly clear that the episodes portrayed are turning points in the history of mankind.

Because of the stylistic differences with earlier work, some experts claim the paintings were made by Lorenzo Lotto, a long-time collaborator of Raphael's in the Vatican palace.