Final answer:
Scenes from the life of a religious leader in an artwork are strategically placed to narrate a story or illustrate a theological concept, with examples including Villalpando's painting of Moses and Jesus and the use of light in the van Eyck's panels to differentiate scenes centered around pivotal religious figures like Christ.
Step-by-step explanation:
The composed scenes from the life of a religious leader are often located at various positions within the artwork's composition to tell a story or convey a message. In the artwork described, scenes from both the Old Testament and the New Testament are depicted, demonstrating the artist's intention to link these moments religiously and visually.
In the case of Villalpando's masterpiece for the Cathedral of Puebla, for example, the Moses and the Brass Serpent scene is located at the bottom of the piece and moves upward towards the Transfiguration of Jesus at the top, forming an overall narrative from despair to divine transformation. The intricacies of lighting within artworks, such as the unique use of transparent layers of glazes seen in the van Eyck's panels, help to differentiate various scenes while the positioning of figures around central figures such as Christ in the Pantokrator mosaic emphasize their significance and the overarching themes of divinity and salvation.