Angeli dell’immaginazione: dall’ <i>Apocalisse</i> alla <i>Madonna Sistina</i>

Abstract The Sistine Madonna is an epiphany in painting. This essay posits that the two famous putti on the threshold play an operative role in the genesis of the vision, and that they also concern Raphael as an artist. The angels’ intervention in the fantastic processes that take place during the apparitions, according to the traditional doctrine on visions, was well established in the Renaissance. The theory of the angels of the imagination was developed in order to better understand the formation of icons and mental images, and served to justify the supernatural value of visions – angels were considered the true painters of the soul. The essay also considers the adaptation of Raphael’s work to the spiritual needs of the Benedictines who were its recipients.