Raphael The School of Athens
Artist: Raphael (Italian b. 1483 d. 1520)
Date: 1510-11
Medium: fresco
Current location: Stanza della Segnatura, Vatican, Rome
Period: High renaissance
Genre: history painting

Quick Notes:
  • The frescoes on the four walls of the Stanza della Segnatura represent four areas that a
    well educated gentleman would pursue in the Renaissance: Theology, Law, Philosophy,
    and the Arts. The School of Athens represents Philosophy, and it is directly across the
    room from the Religion fresco, The Disputa.
  • Philosophy in the Renaissance did not have the narrow meaning it has today, but rather it
    included mathematics and science.
  • The two men walking side by side in the middle of the painting are Plato (who points to
    the sky) and Aristotle (who points to the ground).
  • Which figure represents Socrates? Art historians disagree on this topic. Some believe that
    the man counting on his fingers to the left of Plato represents Socrates, while other
    believe he is the man sitting on the steps below Aristotle.
  • The imaginary architecture descends from Bramante’s design for New St. Peter’s
    cathedral. Bramante and Raphael were friends and allies, but after Bramante's death,
    Michelangelo, his rival, took over the design of New St. Peter's.
  • The two statues in the niches on the left and right represent Apollo and Athena
    respectively.

Suggested Compare-Contrast Target:
  • El Greco, The Burial of Count Orgaz


Writing Prompts:
  • How does this composition epitomize the High Renaissance style?
  • In what ways does this piece relate to Michelangelo's work from the same time period?


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