The Expulsion of Heliodorus from the Temple

In Pope Julius II’s audience room, Raphael stages the biblical ousting of Heliodorus, who came to plunder the Temple treasury. A heavenly horseman charges across the scene, scattering guards and coins; at left the pope calmly witnesses divine justice. Brilliant color, foreshortening, and surging diagonals turn theology into spectacle—and diplomacy into art.