The Death of Ananias

Raphael designed The Death of Ananias around 1515 as one of the tapestry cartoons for Pope Leo X's Sistine Chapel program. The scene from Acts shows the dramatic divine punishment of Ananias for lying about his donation to the apostles, a subject that carried both theological and political resonance in the context of papal authority. The tempera medium required careful preparation on a gessoed panel and a disciplined layering technique that produced precise, durable surfaces suited to the intricate detail expected of devotional painting.

The cartoon demonstrates Raphael's mastery of dramatic narrative composition with the falling figure of Ananias creating a powerful diagonal that disrupts the ordered arrangement of the apostles, achieving maximum dramatic impact.