In this essay, I am analyzing the painting called, The School of Athens. The School of Athens is one of the most famous frescoes painted by the Italian Renaissance artist Raphael. For this piece of art, I am going to be focusing on the individuals in the painting and how some of the people are strategically placed and the objects or gestures they are making and the structure of the building. I believe that the painting as a whole depicts the greatest philosophers, scientists, and mathematicians from the classical eras all in one room and it shows them sharing their ideas to each other. 

Although the painting shows all of these artist in one painting, I believe that the painting highlights the importance of two individuals in the middle of the painting, which are undisputably Aristotle and Plato. The reason I believe that they are the ones highlighted in the painting is because of their positioning, which is in the center of the painting, which also is the vanishing point. If one zooms in on the painting so that only they are showing, one can see that Plato, on the left, is depicted as old, with a long grey beard, and very intelligent looking. On the right is Aristotle, who is depicted as young, handsome, and mature. Both of them are dressed in robes and both are holding a book in their left hand, while making a hand gesture with their right hand. Many viewers of the painting believe that the book in Plato’s hand is his own book, Timaeus, and the book in Aristotle’s hand is also his own book, Nicomachean Ethics. Plato’s hand gesture is pointing to the sky while Aristotle’s hand gesture is pointing straight out in front of him. The artist shows Plato pointing up because “in his philosophy the changing world that we see around us is just a shadow of a higher, truer reality that is eternal and unchanging” (Khan Academy). The artist shows Aristotle pointing straight out in front of him because “in his philosophy, the only reality is the one that we can see and experience by sight and touch… Aristotle’s Ethics (the book that he holds) ‘emphasized the relationships, justice, friendship, and government of the human world and the need to study it” (Khan Academy). I agree with both of these claims, because Plato’s main philosophy was more of an abstract view of the world and his view was that there is something out there that is greater than human beings, while Aristotle’s philosophy was a very concrete view of the world, focusing more on the relationships formed by humans than the abstract world of greater beings than humans. If one looks back at the outfits of Plato and Aristotle, one can see that Plato is wearing red and purple and then Aristotle is wearing blue in brown. In a video on Khan Academy, the man refers the purple in Plato’s outfit to the ether, or air, and the red to fire. Neither of these have weight, which symbolizes Plato’s philosophy of the theoretical. He then goes on to say that the colors that Aristotle is wearing, which are blue and brown, represent the earth and water. Both of these features have weight or gravity, which symbolize Aristotle’s philosophy that we as humans need to focus on what we can see with our own eyes. He wants humans to focus on the concrete view of the world. 

Both philosophers have completely different views, and I think that Raphael places them in the center for that exact reason. If one splits the image in half, one can see that the left side, including Plato, one will notice that this side is full of philosophers that are concerned with the theoretical view of the world. For example, if one looks in the lower left of the picture, one can see Pythagoras writing into a giant book. Pythagoras is a mathematician who discovered the laws of harmony in music, by using mathematics. This is more of an idealistic discovery. If one looks in the bottom right of the picture, one can see Euclid, who is in a red robe, bending over, showing someone how to use a protractor. Euclid is the man we associate geometry with, and he actually seems to be making a geometric figure that looks like a star. The reason why he is on the right side of the image, according to Khan Academy, is because of measure, the idea of practical. Also in the bottom right hand corner of the painting, there is a man, who is believed to be Ptolemy, who is holding a sphere of Earth. The significance of the mathematician is that he tried to make a theory that explains the movement of the planets. This is also measure, the idea of practical, because it is something that is concrete. Although his theory that the planets all orbited around the earth was wrong, it was a gateway to other people to research how the planets actually orbited. The only reason viewers believe this individual is Ptolemy is because of the symbol of the earth. Also in the bottom right hand corner of the painting standing next to Ptolemy, staring right into the viewer’s eyes is actually the artist himself, Raphael. I thought this was interesting because I learned that he puts himself into almost every portrait that he paints.

The building in The School of Athens, is one of perfection. One can see the perfect geometrical and symmetrical shapes and figures all over the building. The building really gives a feel that the individuals that are inside of it are important figures. On the left side of the painting, one can see the sculpture of Apollo, who is the God of the Sun, the God of Music, and the God of Poetry. These all correlate with the philosophers on the left side of the image, following the Platonic philosophy. On the right side of the painting, one can see the sculpture of Athena, who is the God of War and Wisdom, which correlates more with Aristotle’s view of practicality. 

Raphael and The School of Athens painting offers an ample amount to discuss and debate. It is an amazing painting, depicting the greatest philosophers of the Renaissance and it is something that can be discussed for years to come.
