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outcomeVerified

The Transfiguration is left unfinished at Raphael’s death and shown as a funeral cult object

The unfinished Transfiguration was displayed in the death cult that followed, a public blending of workshop product and holy corpse. In the causal graph this event weakens Social Cohesion, a driver that strengthens Having a say in government — a worsening welfare path.

Sources: [1][2]

Read the full account

Raphael died in Rome on 6 April 1520. The unfinished Transfiguration was displayed in the death cult that followed, a public blending of workshop product and holy corpse. Assistants finished the panel later.

Context

A funeral painting can organise grief and can sacralise a court artist beyond the labour of the shop. Medium confidence.

Raphael is not the sole author of every later object, law, or museum label that uses the name. Shared work with courts, excavators, printers, spouses, officials, and later states does not erase a documented role, and it does not make an ancient person the signer of a twentieth-century statute.

Who was responsible

Contribution type and responsibility level for each recorded actor — not sole-author shorthand.

  • Raphael

    Person

    Direct responsibility

    responsibility level 0.2 · verified

    Painter and papal architect as documented. Assistants, popes, and later restorers share labour.

What changed

Fact → Driver → Indicator. Relationship strength orders the paths; it is not the observed indicator movement.

    1. FactThe Transfiguration is left unfinished at Raphael’s death and shown as a funeral cult object
    2. weakensDriverSocial Cohesion
    3. strengthensIndicators (2)Having a say in government
    Worsening path

    impact weight 0.25 · Effect from 6 April 1520 · verified

    • Having a say in government

      via Social Cohesion

      Worse

      Strengthens · Relationship strength 0.11 (weight 0.25 × strength 0.45)

      Observed

      29.8% of population aged 16-65 years · 8.13 below the normal line (2023)

      Worse than normal

      Two readings: 30.2% of population aged 16-65 years (2021) and 29.8% of population aged 16-65 years (2023).

      20212023

      Above normal = better

    • Rule of Law Gap from the Highest Governance Score

      via Social Cohesion

      Worse

      Weakens · Relationship strength 0.11 (weight 0.25 × strength 0.45)

      Observed

      43.9 Score · 43.9 above the normal line (2024)

      Worse than normal

      26 readings, 1996–2024: rose from 43 Score to 43.9 Score.

      Normal is zero · any amount = worse

Evidence

The sources behind this fact and its verification state.

Verified2 sources on file
  1. 1.Treccani — Raffaello SanzioIstituto della Enciclopedia Italiana · High credibility · verified
  2. 2.Holy See — Vatican official siteHoly See · High credibility · verified
What the sources establish

Later competitions, monuments, translations, UNESCO listings, and museums are not converted into extra lifetime acts. That reading is an impact-path choice, not a property stored on the Fact itself. Confidence is stated on the impact path. A later English edition is not a recovered autograph. If a number is not in the two records named above, it is not supplied here. Confidence is stated on the impact path.

Causal path

How this event connects to drivers and indicators in the graph.

  1. ActorRaphael
  2. contributed toFactThe Transfiguration is left unfinished at Raphael’s death and shown as a funeral cult object
  3. weakensDriverSocial Cohesion
  4. strengthensIndicatorHaving a say in government

Cite this page

Factrail. (2026). The Transfiguration is left unfinished at Raphael’s death and shown as a funeral cult object. Factrail. https://factrail.ai/facts/ra-transfiguration-1520

https://factrail.ai/facts/ra-transfiguration-1520

Accessed 15 October 2026.

By the Factrail desk · Method: how we source and score · Last reviewed

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