We invite you to learn more about the history, characteristics and meaning of one of the most important works made by the Italian painter Rafael Sanzio, "The School of Athens”, considered a Renaissance jewel and was painted between 1510 and 1512.
The school of Athens
Throughout his successful career, the renowned painter and architect of Italian origin, Rafael Sanzio, had the opportunity to carry out great artistic works, including "The School of Athens", considered one of the most famous and emblematic paintings of his entire career.
The School of Athens became one of the most important creations of the Italian Rafael Sanzio, who sketched it for the first time between 1509 and 1510. However, he officially painted it between 1510 and 1512, when he was commissioned. to decorate with frescoes the rooms that are currently known as Raphael's rooms.
Raphael's rooms are today located in the Apostolic Palace in Vatican City, where this impeccable work by the Italian artist can be appreciated. The Stanza della Segnatura was decorated first and The School of Athens the second painted to be completed, after The Sacramento Dispute.
In a few words we are talking about one of the most representative works in the artistic career of the Italian painter Rafael Sanzio. The school of Athens is today part of the "Vatican Rooms", which as many will know, is a set of four rooms in the Palace.
The decoration of these rooms was entrusted by Pope Julius II to several artists of the time, although finally all these artists were replaced by Raphael, who ended up being responsible for decorating all these spaces. That is why these rooms are currently also called "Raphael's Rooms", in honor of the work done by the Italian artist.
The school of Athens is a clear example of scientific thought and natural truth, whose development is attributed to classical antiquity. It could be said that this work embodies the entire cultural program of the Renaissance, because in it you can see the presence of the most influential and outstanding thinkers and scientists in world history, and even the Renaissance itself.
Paint
The painting "The School of Athens" has a base of 7,75 meters, while its height is 5,00 meters. He can currently be seen in front of the Sacramento Dispute. It alludes to philosophy through a scene in which a session between the classical philosophers is narrated.
In this painting, its author is in charge of adapting the space to the laws of the surface. He arranges the protagonists from left to right. The perspective is broken by the protruding side walls.
Considering that this painting by Raphael Sanzio was to be placed above the philosophy section of Pope Julius II, The School of Athens reflects the most influential and prominent philosophers, scientists, and mathematicians of the classical age. The philosophers meet in classical architecture, vaulted like a bath.
In some niches you can see figures of impressive size. It is the representation of the gods Apollo and Athena. This architecture recalls the project for the basilica of San Pedro carried out by Bramante. In this painting by the Italian Sanzio you can also see other figures such as Plato and Aristotle.
Let us remember that both, both Plato and Aristotle, came to be described in the Middle Ages as the main representatives of ancient philosophy. For that reason, the Italian painter decides to place them in the center of the work, around the vanishing point, Plato is holding the Timaeus.
For his part, Aristotle can be seen holding a copy of his Nicomachean Ethics. Both are seen debating about the search for Truth and make gestures that correspond to his interests in philosophy. Plato appears making a sign towards the sky, symbolizing the idealist rationalist idealism that is his thought; while Aristotle points to the earth, alluding to his teleological rational substantial realism.
In this important work it is also possible to identify other characters linked to ancient philosophers. Most of them are placed on two levels, separated by a staircase. On the left side we can clearly see the profile figure of Socrates, one of the most influential philosophers of the time
Also on the left side of the painting you can clearly see a large block of stone, which according to the analysts of the work, its meaning could be related to the First Epistle of Peter; symbolizes Christ, the “cornerstone”.
It is said that the man standing on the block is nothing more and nothing less than Heraclitus, with the features of Michelangelo. It is important to point out that the figure of this character was not part of the original design of the work, that is, it was not included in that sketch that is kept in the Biblioteca Ambrosiana in Milan.
Michelangelo is portrayed in this figure, as seen in the face, which is that of the Florentine painter slightly improved, as well as in the characteristic stivali that he wears: they were riding boots that the Florentine painter never took off; he is composing one of his sonnets.
In the 1510s, the Italian painter Rafael Sanzio had the opportunity to observe the work done by Michelangelo on the vault of the Sistine Chapel and it was after that experience that he decided to include it in his painting as a sign of respect for the artist. Likewise, this figure avoids a large void in that part of the fresco.
On the right side of the painting is where you can see the self-portrait of Rafael Sanzio, represented as a young man with brown hair who is looking at the viewer, playing with a round blue hat. Right next to him is Perugino, another of the most famous painters of the time, who also wears a round but white hat.
To the left of the painting is Hypatia of Alexandria (painted as Margherita Luti or Francesco Maria I della Rovere), dressed in white and looking out at the viewer.
Much has been said about the true meaning of The School of Athens. According to several scholars, the meaning of this fresco can be synthesized in the celebration of philosophy, considered the mother of all sciences, as well as in the celebration of scientific thought and the recognition of the contributions of ancient thinkers.
Some researchers, including Giulio Argan, say that the work of the Italian Rafael Sanzio represents ancient wisdom. For that reason, the artist discards the representation of nature and focuses on personalities and architecture.
Philosophers
The play “The School of Athens” is surrounded by many characters and philosophers. Many of them can be precisely identified, for example the case of Plato and Aristotle, who are part of the figures represented by Raphael Sanzio in this painting. However, some scholars have not been able to agree with the identity of the other figures depicted in the work.
Beyond that, one cannot deny the great impact that the work The School of Athens has had and continues to have. To help you understand a little more about the composition of this painting and each of the characters that appear there, we wanted to analyze each aspect of the painting in detail.
The school of Athens would represent philosophy and that is why in the center of the painting you can see the figures of two of the greatest and most influential philosophers of Ancient Greece: Plato and Aristotle. Both characters are in turn surrounded by other great thinkers, philosophers and mathematicians from whom we will learn more below.
To better understand this fresco, it is important to return to the center of the painting. Plato can be clearly differentiated from Aristotle because the latter carries in his hands a book authored by him: the Timaeus, which deals with the universe and human nature.
For his part, Aristotle also carries a book of his own: Ethics, a treatise on morality. For that reason it is very easy to identify both characters, who represent the thinking of the philosophers. From that center starring Plato and Aristotle, you can see how the painting is divided into two.
On the one hand we find the characters that are on the left side of Plato. From that part you can see philosophers who attempted abstractions, that is, themes of the impalpable world. On the other side of the painting, that is, on the right side of Aristotle, thinkers dedicated to the study of the natural, physical and real world are observed, who dedicated their lives to explaining the observable.
One of the figures with the best position on the left side of the painting is the great mathematician Pythagoras. A little higher, on that same side, Alexander the Great is observed, while lower down the figure of Epicura stands out, a man with a robust figure. and with a crown of vine leaves.
Below we show you an image of the work "The School of Athens" where you can see each of the characters painted by Sanzio. In this image, most of the characters are marked with a number to make their identification much easier.
1: Zeno of Citium or Zeno of Elea
2: Epicurus
3: Frederick II Gonzaga
4: Boethius or Anaximander or Empedocles
5: Averroës
6: Pythagoras
7: Alcibiades or Alexander the Great
8: Antisthenes or Xenophon
9: Hypatia (painted as Margherita or young Francesco Maria della Rovere)
10: Aeschines or Xenophon
11: Parmenides
12: Socrates
13: Heraclitus (painted like Michelangelo)
14: Plato holding the Timaeus (painted as Leonardo da Vinci)
15: Aristotle holding Ethics
16: Diogenes of Sinope
17: Plotinus
18: Euclid or Archimedes with a group of students (painted as Bramante)
19: Strabo or Zoroaster
20: Claudius Ptolemy – R: Apelles as Raphael
21: Protogenes as Sodom
Plays
Throughout history, different reproductions have been made of the original work by Rafael Sanzio, entitled The School of Athens. One of the most famous reproductions of this fresco can currently be seen in the Old Cabell Hall auditorium located at the University of Virginia in the United States.
This reproduction was made in the 1900s by George W. Breck and was made to replace an older reproduction that was destroyed in a fire in 1895. This reproduction is four inches apart from the the original, because the Vatican Museums do not allow identical reproductions of their works of art.
However, this is not the only reproduction that exists of the work The School of Athens. One can also be seen in the Königsberg Cathedral, Kaliningrad. This reproduction was made by Emil Neide and is considered one of the most attractive and interesting in history.
The remembered Hard Rock musical group Guns N' Roses also used the work of Rafael Sanzio in 1991 for their albums Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II. The two figures to the left of Plotinus (figure 17 in the image used above) were drawn by artist Mark Kostabi.
Gallery
Here are some important images:
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