The Raising of Lazarus

Sebastiano del Piombo's Raising of Lazarus, completed around 1517-1519, was commissioned by Cardinal Giulio de' Medici as a direct competition with Raphael's Transfiguration — both large altarpieces intended for Narbonne Cathedral, both displayed simultaneously at the Vatican before shipment. Michelangelo assisted Sebastiano with the composition and some of the figures, investing the work with a Michelangelesque monumentality that contrasted with Raphael's more graceful approach. The direct competitive comparison between the two altarpieces — judged publicly with both works displayed together — was won by Raphael in critical opinion, though Sebastiano's Lazarus remained a work of extraordinary power that influenced subsequent treatments of the miracle.

The monumental composition combines Michelangelesque figural grandeur with Sebastiano's Venetian colorism, creating a powerfully dramatic scene where the newly risen Lazarus twists toward the light of Christ.