Raphael School of Athens Stanza Della Segnatura Art History

The Story Behind Raphael's Masterpiece 'The School of Athens'

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Long before Rafael the hotheaded, scarlet-eye mask-wearing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle entertained children onscreen, in that location was Rafael the esteemed painter who'd won over a cultured oversupply of art connoisseurs. By his mid-20s, Raphael Sanzio was already a star. At the top of his game, this chief of the Italian Renaissance had been invited by the pope to live in Rome, where he would spend the residue of his days. Starting in 1509 he began decorating the first of four rooms in the Papal Palace. Collectively, these Raphael Rooms, along with Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel exemplify the High Renaissance fresco technique.

In particular, Raphael's fresco The School of Athens has come to symbolize the union of art, philosophy, and scientific discipline that was a authentication of the Italian Renaissance. Painted between 1509 and 1511, information technology is located in the offset of the iv rooms designed by Raphael, the Stanza della Segnatura.

But just what does this famous painting mean? Let'southward look at what the iconic The School of Athens meant for Raphael as an creative person and how it's get such a symbol of the Renaissance. At the time, a commission past the pope was the apex of any artist'south career. For Raphael, it was validation of an already burgeoning career.

"The School of Athens" preparatory cartoon

Raphael was in Florence when he received discussion that Pope Julius Ii, the same human being who asked Michelangelo to pigment the Sistine Ceiling, asked him to decorate apartments on the second floor of the Vatican Palace. He was hoping to outshine the Early on Renaissance paintings his predecessor, Pope Alexander Half dozen, had done in the Borgia Apartments, which sabbatum directly below. It could be seen as a bold choice, as a young Raphael had never executed fresco works equally complex equally the committee would require. At that point, he'd mainly been known for his small portraits and religious paintings on forest, in improver to a few altarpieces. Some believe that his friend Bramante, who was the architect of St. Peter's, recommended him for the job. They'd both grown up in Urbino and knew each other well.

Raphael rose to the challenge, creating an extensive catalog of preparatory sketches for all his frescoes. These would later be blown upwards in total-scale cartoons to assistance transfer the design to the moisture plaster. Working at the same time as Michelangelo, it'southward idea that this helped push and inspire Raphael past stimulating his competitive nature.

Stanza della Segnatura and the 4 Branches of Knoweldge

The Schoolhouse of Athens is one of four wall frescoes in the Stanza della Segnatura. Each wall represents i of the four branches of knowledge during the Renaissance—theology, literature, justice, and philosophy. The room was fix to be Julius' library, and therefore Raphael's overall concept balances the contents of what would have been in the pope's written report.

In the 15th century, a tradition of decorating private libraries with portraits of bully thinkers was mutual. Raphael took the idea to a whole new level with massive compositions that reflected the four branches. Read as a whole, they immediately transmitted the intellect of the pope and would have sparked word betwixt cultured minds that were lucky plenty to enter into this individual space.

The School of Athens was the tertiary painting Raphael completed afterwardsDisputa (representing theology) and Parnassus (representing literature). Information technology's positioned facingDisputa and symbolizes philosophy, setting up a contrast between religious and lay beliefs.

Take a virtual tour of the Stanza della Segnatura via the Vatican Museums website.

The School of Athens

Gear up in an immense architectural illusion painted by Raphael, The School of Athens is a masterpiece that visually represents an intellectual concept. In one painting, Raphael used groupings of figures to lay out a circuitous lesson on the history of philosophy and the different beliefs that were adult by the nifty Greek philosophers.

Raphael certainly would have been privy to individual showings of the Sistine Chapel in progress that were arranged by Bramante. Though Raphael'south work, in many means, could exist seen equally more than complex due to the number of figures placed in one scene, he certainly was influenced past the great artist's work. This is particularly evident by the long effigy thinking in the foreground, as we'll soon see.

In fact, modern influence seeps in more frequently than ane would think, especially when it comes to the faces used for certain figures in The Schoolhouse of Athens. Let's take a await, group by group, to pick autonomously the concept and run into who appears in the famous fresco.

Who are the figures inThe Schoolhouse of Athens?

Plato and Aristotle

The two primary figures in the work are placed directly under the archway and in the fresco'south vanishing betoken, a compositional trick to depict the viewer's centre to the virtually important office of the painting. Here, we encounter two men who effectively correspond the different schools of philosophy—Plato and Aristotle.

An elderly Plato stands at the left, pointing his finger to the heaven. Beside him is his student Aristotle. In a display of superb foreshortening, Aristotle reaches his correct arm directly out toward the viewer. Each human holds a copy of their books in their left hand—Timaeus for Plato and Nicomachean Ethics for Aristotle.

Plato'south gesture toward the sky is thought to bespeak his Theory of Forms. This philosophy argues that the "real" globe is not the physical one, but instead a spiritual realm of ideas filled with abstruse concepts and ideas. The concrete realm, for Plato, is but the material, imperfect things we meet and interact with on a daily basis. Interestingly, some people believe that Raphael used Leonardo da Vinci'south face for Plato, based on similarities from his self-portrait.

Conversely, Aristotle'south hand is a visual representation of his belief that noesis comes from experience. Empiricism, as it is known, theorizes that humans must have physical evidence to support their ideas and is very much grounded in the physical world.

Scholars argue that this divide in philosophies, placed at the eye of The School of Athens, is the cadre theme of the painting.

So who is everyone else? It's not e'er crystal articulate, as Raphael doesn't arm all his characters with attributes that give away their identity. Fortunately, there are quite a few that scholars can hold on.

Socrates

To the left of Plato, Socrates is recognizable cheers to his singled-out features. It's said that Raphael was able to use an ancient portrait bosom of the philosopher as his guide. He's too identified by his hand gesture, as pointed out by Giorgio Vasari inLives of the Artists. "Fifty-fifty the Manner of Reasoning of Socrates is Limited'd: he holds the Fore-finger of his left mitt between that, and the Thumb of his Right, and seems as if he was saying You lot grant me This and This."

Amidst the crowd surrounding Socrates are his students, including the general Alcibiades and Aeschines of Sphettus.

Pythagoras

In the foreground, Pythagoras sits with a book and an inkwell, also surrounded by students. Though Pythagoras is well known for his mathematical and scientific discoveries, he likewise firmly believed in metempsychosis. This philosophy states that every soul is immortal, and upon death, moves to a new physical body. In this light, it makes sense that he would be placed on Plato'due south side of the fresco.

Euclid

Mirroring Pythagoras' position on the other side, Euclid is bent over demonstrating something with a compass. His young students eagerly try to grasp the lessons he'south educational activity them. The Greek mathematician is known as the male parent of geometry, and his love of physical theorems with exact answers demonstrates why he represents Aristotle'south side of The Schoolhouse of Athens. Experts believe that Euclid is a portrait of Raphael's friend Bramante.

Ptolemy

The cracking mathematician and astronomer Ptolemy is right next to Euclid, with his dorsum to the viewer. Wearing a yellow robe, he holds a terrestrial globe in his manus. It's thought that the bearded man continuing in front of him holding a celestial world is the astronomer Zoroaster. Interestingly, the swain standing next to Zoroaster, peaking out at the viewer, is none other than Raphael himself. Incorporating this blazon of self-portrait is not unheard of at the time, though it was a bold move for the artist to incorporate his likeness into a work of such intellectual complexity.

Diogenes

It's universally agreed that the older gentleman sprawled on the steps is Diogenes. Founder of the Cynic philosophy, he was a controversial figure in his day, living a simple life and criticizing cultural conventions.

Heraclitus

I of the most striking figures in the composition is a heart-searching homo seated in the foreground, hand on his head in a classic "thinker" position. This figure doesn't show up in Raphael's preliminary drawings and plaster analysis shows that it was added later. Art historians Roger Jones and Nicholas Penny write in their book Raphael that it "is probably Raphael's first attempt to advisable some of the heavyweight power of Michelangelo's Sistine Prophets and sibyls."

Long idea to exist a portrait of Michelangelo himself, the brooding nature would take matched the artist's grapheme. In the realm of philosophers, he is Heraclitus, a self-taught pioneer of wisdom. He was a melancholy character and did not enjoy the visitor of others, making him one of the few isolated characters in the fresco.

Statues

Rounding out Raphael's programme, two big statues sit down in niches at the back of the schoolhouse. On Plato's correct, we see Apollo, while on Aristotle's left is Minerva. Minerva, the goddess of wisdom and justice, is an apt representative of the moral philosophy side of the fresco. Interestingly, her positioning besides places her shut to Raphael's fresco about jurisprudence, which unfolds directly to her left.

Apollo, recognizable by his lyre, represents the natural philosophy side. As the god of low-cal, music, truth, and healing, his position puts him adjacent to Raphael's Parnassus fresco representing literature and poetry.

Since its creation, The School of Athens was a success, bringing Raphael subsequent commissions past the pope and making him 1 of the most sought-after artists in Rome. Though Raphael's life was short—he died in 1520 at age 37—his touch on has endured over the centuries. He's still considered 1 of the great masters of the Italian Renaissance, with his work influencing artists fifty-fifty today.

All images via Raphael [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons except where noted.

This article has been edited and updated.

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