Raphael's School of Athens: Renaissance philosophy and artistic composition

¶ … School of Athens is the most well-known of the frescoes painted by Raphael, an Italian Renaissance artist. Painted in two years from 1509-1511, Raphael painted the fresco as a commission where he had to decorate the Stanze di Raffaello rooms in the Apostolic Palace located in the Vatican. The fresco is meant to represent Philosophy and was finished after La Disputa, which represented theology on the opposite side. School of Athens is considered by many to be Raphael's masterpiece, perfectly embodying the essence of the Renaissance. (Cole and Gealt 53)

Depicting a branch of knowledge that was one of four frescoes, School of Athens has the label overhead of 'Causarum Cognitio' meaning 'Seek Knowledge of Causes' and emphasizes Aristotle's focus on wisdom and discovering the causes of things. This is why Plato and Aristotle are shown as the main and central figures within the scene. Apart from Aristotle and Plato, all the other philosophers shown in the piece pursued knowledge of first causes. Though most lived prior to the births of Plato and Aristotle and most were not Athenians, Raphael wished to bring the scene into Athens and title it as such in order to show the influence of ancient Greece.

An interesting thing to note is the lack of distinction made by Raphael with the Greek philosophers. Those that analyzed the piece suggest every famous ancient Greek philosopher reside in the painting. However, Raphael never named them nor wrote in any documents, who each figure was adding to the mystery.

Autobiography

The artist Raphael was a leading figure of Italian High Renaissance classicism. He is known for his big figure compositions and his 'Madonnas' like the Sistine Madonna. Born on April 6, 1483, Raphael was raised in Urbino, Italy and was apprentice to Perguino in 1504. Painting 'Madonna's after living for three years in Florence from 1504-1507, he went to Rome and painted the 'Room of the Signatura' frescoes from 1509-1511 in the Palace of the Vatican. He continued painting frescoes for the 'Room of Heliodorus' and in 1514 Raphael became the chief architect for Pope Julius II. He died six years later on his birthday in 1520 in Rome.

Deconstruction

The imagery that separates heavenly from earthly begins with Plato on the viewer's left and Aristotle from the right. Plato points to the heavens while Aristotle has his hand parallel to the ground and his other hand with his book pointing downward. They are the central figures in the painting as well as the easiest to identify. The book is his work, Etica. His position as well as his work references his stress on systematic study via collection of evidence. Aristotle's legacy is one of classification and structure, specifically the principles of syllogism and logic. By placing more reliance on inductive logic and research than instances of intellectual inspiration, he presents the perfect representation of earth and the grounded notions it inspires. (Janson and Janson 159)

Plato believed true knowledge came from the divine or divine inspiration. Hence why he is pictured pointing to the heavens. By carrying his work, Timeo, he mimics the Aristotle depiction but adds movement by taking a step rather than stay still like the stationary Aristotle. While Plato and Aristotle are given center stage and emphasis, Socrates, the other that makes the 'Big Three' of Classical philosophy is much more difficult to identify. There are two possibilities among the figures that could be Socrates.

One is located to the viewer's left of Plato. He wears a sage green tunic and lists or counts on his fingers while lecturing. This figure was chosen because Socrates pushed others to think and question as well as it fits the chronological representation of historical figures from left to right. The other is the 'sprawling man' that has a cup next to him possible representing the hemlock Socrates drank that killed him. While it is not definitive who Socrates was in the painting, the complexity of the painting adds to the awe that it inspires. Regardless of who is who in the School of Athens it is a true marvel and excellent example of the Renaissance.