School of Athens

The School of Athens is a fresco painting that is framed and uses Bramante's design for the new St. Peter's Basilica as an influence to the architecture in the painting. Is the architecture part of the painting or the room in which it sits?

The scene is a fabrication, showing Greek philosophers who lived at different times together at a single gathering. Aristotle and Plato are the 2 central figures. Your eyes are drawn to them in the crowd of people. The gestures of Plato and Aristotle in the painting reference the ideas of these philosophers. Plato points to the heavens, as his writings dealt with intangible heavenly things. Aristotle points down because he was interested in observable, tangible, earthly things. What is happening in the piece to create them as the focal point.

Raphael's School of Athens shows how the Catholic world embraced the classical world during the High Renaissance. It's harmonious balance is the key to the this time period.

If you would like to learn more about this piece you can in this video.