Painted in 1509 to 1511, The School of Athens is considered one of the most frescoes by Raphael. He was an Italian Renaissance artist commissioned to paint the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican. The School of Athens was done as the second painting in the Stanza Della Segnatura and represents philosophy from the artist’s perspective ( Haas, 2012) . Critics refer to the painting as a masterpiece and explain it as a classical embodiment of the classical spirit in the Renaissance period. This analysis purposes to explore the painting and focus on Plato, one of the philosophers featured in the painting.
Raphael used The School of Athens as a statement of the co-existence between the modern Christian Italian Culture and pagan Greek Philosophy as the foundation of European Civilization today. In this work of art, Raphael brings out his prowess in foreshortening and perspective. He was well known for altering the size of different body parts to make them look closer or further from the viewer’s point of view ( Winner, 2012). With this technique, he accurately represented the essence of the Renaissance period which included a huge passion for art, religion and the embrace of Greek and Roman culture. This fresco or wall-painting stands out because Raphael takes the opportunity to honor a significant period in art history.
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This famous painting is about sixteen feet tall and twenty feet wide. The central figures in the fresco stand under an extended archway with an open sky. These men are having a deep conversation as they walk down a corridor lined with Greek and Romanesque Sculptures and the floor features three concentric circles. On either side of these men, there are small crowds that seem to hang on their every word. There are two more groups on the foreground in pursuit of an answer to an unknown question. Between the two prominent figures and those in the foreground are more classical thinkers from Greece, Persia, Egypt, and Rome.
There is a long-standing argument concerning the identities of the persons in The School of Athens. However, the most well-known persons are in the middle. Plato and his student Aristotle are well known and easily identifiable because they each hold a copy of their literature. Plato points as at the sky as if to emphasize his cosmologic theories and Aristotle points down with emphasis that ethics should be practical ( Ashrafian, 2017) . He sets them as the central figures because they are among the most popular figures in philosophy during the renaissance time and today.
Plato in the School of Athens
Plato is a Greek Philosopher, a student of Socrates and a teacher to Aristotle. He is very popular because his work covered a variety of topics including justice, beauty, equality, aesthetics, political philosophy, theology, cosmology, and epistemology. Despite his extensive work he is most popularly known as a philosopher and mathematician who practiced in the western world. Also, his portfolio includes extensive literature embraced in almost every field today. They include the Phaedrus, Symposium, and Allegory of the Cave, Phaedo, and Georgias. Each of this work questions social issues and presents Plato’s philosophy on the matter.
In conclusion, Plato’s achievements, as well as those of other philosophers in the Renaissance, motivated Raphael to create a timeless piece of work. He created work that is grand in stature because it honors the originality of the period. In this painting, it is easy to see the thirst for knowledge and understanding that motivated critical thinkers of the time. Additionally, it pays homage to the foundation of art and philosophy that influences these fields today. It is a timeless piece that elevates Raphael to the art master that he is known as today.
References
Haas, R. (2012). Raphael's School of Athens: A Theorem in a Painting? Journal of Humanistic Mathematics .
Winner, M. (2012). Raphael's School of Athens The Power of Images in Early Modern Science ,.
Ashrafian, H. (2017). Early Depiction of a Parotid Tumour in the “School of Athens”(1509–1511) by Raphael (1483–1520). Head and neck pathol
