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Raphael's School Of Athens
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Published: September 27, 2006
Many people are aware of the exquisite frescoes covering the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City because of the film, “The Agony and the Ecstasy.” The movie depicts the challenges Michelangelo faced in painting the ceiling.
However, the Sistine Chapel is just one of more than 1,000 rooms in the Apostolic Palace, where the Pope lives. And while Michelangelo was painting the Sistine ceiling, one of his contemporaries, Raphael, was producing beautiful frescoes in the Pope's apartments.
These Stanze di Raffaello (Rooms by Raphael) are on the third floor of the palace. One of the rooms, known as the Room of the Segnatura, houses the fresco called “The School of Athens.”
Finished in 1511, “The School of Athens” does not depict a brick-and-mortar building, rather a school of thought. Its characters are some of history's greatest classical philosophers, both Athenian and non-Athenian, and their students.
In his 2002 article, “The Philosopher as Hero: Raphael's The School of Athens,” Artcyclopedia features editor Joseph Phelan notes that by bringing these philosophers together in one imaginary room, Raphael shows they were united in their pursuit of reason, even though they were separated by time and space.
"The 'school' of Athens can be found in places and times very distant from where the tradition of Greek moral and philosophical reasoning actually began," Phelan writes. "Raphael wishes us to see how reason is truly multicultural and trans-historical."
In “The School of Athens,” Raphael's figures debate, listen to and learn from each other in a huge hall filled with light. The light symbolizes enlightenment and purity of thought.
The two men in the center of “The School of Athens” are Plato and his student Aristotle. Plato is on the left, in a red robe. Aristotle is dressed in blue. Their animated body language suggests each one's beliefs. By pointing to the heavens, Plato expresses Idealism. Aristotle demonstrates Realism by pointing downward-literally showing that his viewpoint is "down to earth."
Raphael leads the viewer around “The School of Athens” to other philosophers with other views. The man in the lower front left of the picture with the yellow turban is Averroes, an Islamic philosopher who lived centuries after Aristotle. Many scholars believe the man in the lower right foreground using a compass and tablet is Euclid, though others think it is another mathematician, Archimedes. The fellow sprawled nonchalantly in the middle of the stairs is Diogenes. As in real life, the Cynic is again separated from the rest of the pack by his beliefs and actions.
Socrates, Hypatia, Pythagoras, Ptolemy – they are all enrolled in this School of Athens. Raphael even includes himself in the painting. He is tucked away in a crowd at the far right, wearing a dark cap and red tunic. He is glancing slyly at the viewer, as if to say, "Do you see what I see?"
The School of Athens celebrates not only philosophy and reason, but also liberal and fine arts, mathematics and science. Many have marveled at Raphael's ability to capture and express so much so beautifully in his fresco, as he was only in his mid-20s at the time.
Further reading: Two interesting discussions on “The School of Athens” can be found at www.ancientworlds.net/aw/Article/555679 (The School of Athens by Silenos Socrates) and www.artcyclopedia.com/feature-2002-09.html (the aforementioned article by Joseph Phelan).
However, the Sistine Chapel is just one of more than 1,000 rooms in the Apostolic Palace, where the Pope lives. And while Michelangelo was painting the Sistine ceiling, one of his contemporaries, Raphael, was producing beautiful frescoes in the Pope's apartments.
These Stanze di Raffaello (Rooms by Raphael) are on the third floor of the palace. One of the rooms, known as the Room of the Segnatura, houses the fresco called “The School of Athens.”
Finished in 1511, “The School of Athens” does not depict a brick-and-mortar building, rather a school of thought. Its characters are some of history's greatest classical philosophers, both Athenian and non-Athenian, and their students.
In his 2002 article, “The Philosopher as Hero: Raphael's The School of Athens,” Artcyclopedia features editor Joseph Phelan notes that by bringing these philosophers together in one imaginary room, Raphael shows they were united in their pursuit of reason, even though they were separated by time and space.
"The 'school' of Athens can be found in places and times very distant from where the tradition of Greek moral and philosophical reasoning actually began," Phelan writes. "Raphael wishes us to see how reason is truly multicultural and trans-historical."
In “The School of Athens,” Raphael's figures debate, listen to and learn from each other in a huge hall filled with light. The light symbolizes enlightenment and purity of thought.
The two men in the center of “The School of Athens” are Plato and his student Aristotle. Plato is on the left, in a red robe. Aristotle is dressed in blue. Their animated body language suggests each one's beliefs. By pointing to the heavens, Plato expresses Idealism. Aristotle demonstrates Realism by pointing downward-literally showing that his viewpoint is "down to earth."
Raphael leads the viewer around “The School of Athens” to other philosophers with other views. The man in the lower front left of the picture with the yellow turban is Averroes, an Islamic philosopher who lived centuries after Aristotle. Many scholars believe the man in the lower right foreground using a compass and tablet is Euclid, though others think it is another mathematician, Archimedes. The fellow sprawled nonchalantly in the middle of the stairs is Diogenes. As in real life, the Cynic is again separated from the rest of the pack by his beliefs and actions.
Socrates, Hypatia, Pythagoras, Ptolemy – they are all enrolled in this School of Athens. Raphael even includes himself in the painting. He is tucked away in a crowd at the far right, wearing a dark cap and red tunic. He is glancing slyly at the viewer, as if to say, "Do you see what I see?"
The School of Athens celebrates not only philosophy and reason, but also liberal and fine arts, mathematics and science. Many have marveled at Raphael's ability to capture and express so much so beautifully in his fresco, as he was only in his mid-20s at the time.
Further reading: Two interesting discussions on “The School of Athens” can be found at www.ancientworlds.net/aw/Article/555679 (The School of Athens by Silenos Socrates) and www.artcyclopedia.com/feature-2002-09.html (the aforementioned article by Joseph Phelan).
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