School of Athens Analysis

¶ … 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. Iconography There are several points of interest within the image. With 58 representations of once living historical figures, the School of Athens provides a wealth of interpretation especially when arguing for the identities of the majority of the carefully painted figures.

(Hall 34) Many would imagine so many characters and images in one painting would create chaos, however through Raphael's use of triangular geometry in order to organize the fresco in an aesthetically and comprehensible way, all the images are easily distinguishable and highlighted through positioning. For example, when looking at the painting for the first time, the eye will wander to the two central figures, placed so that the pair are the tip of the triangle with the other characters radiating outward from their position.

From the far right and the far left, two groups of figures help form the base of the geometric triangle within the front of the piece. Towards the middle ground two more pairs complete the circular flow. Movement plays an important part to the organization of the figures. The man slumped athwart the steps helps keep the eyes moving, along with the figures walking on left edge and right edge to and from the scene.

Precision of composition demonstrated the superior wisdom of the men in the piece and payed respect to the Hellenic thinkers that inspired Renaissance artists. 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.