School of Athens by Raphael (1509-1510)
What we learned-
- Raphael was one of three artists (including Michelangelo & da Vinci) who lead the Italian Renaissance movement in painting. (Michelangelo was his biggest rival!)
- Pope Julius II commissioned Raphael to paint frescoes in several rooms of the Vatican palace, including the above painting (which is Raphael’s best known work).
- This particular work documents the history of Greek philosophy, with Aristotle and Plato as the central figures and other key philosophers and figures surrounding them. (Including “cameos” by da Vinci, Michelangelo and Raphael as three of the featured men!)
- Visit http://agutie.homestead.com/files/school_athens_map.html for an interactive chart of “who’s who” in the School of Athens!
Discussion Questions:
- Raphael was challenged by having to paint portraits of many men of whom there was no previous documentation (Nobody really knew what they looked like!). How would you paint someone you’d never seen?
- What do you think the groupings of people in the painting represent? Why do you think Aristotle and Plato are the central figures?
