The School of Athens

Raphael, 1509–1510

Fresco, 500 × 770 cm

Vatican City, Apostolic Palace

The School of Athens or "Scuola di Atene" in Italian is one of the most famous paintings by the Italian Renaissance artist Raphael. It was painted between 1510 and 1511 as a part of Raphael's commission to decorate with frescoes the rooms that are now known as the Stanze di Raffaello, in the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican. The Stanza della Segnatura was the first of the rooms to be decorated, and The School of Athens the second painting to be finished after La disputa. The picture has long been seen as "Rapheal's masterpiece and the perfect embodiment of the classical spirit of the High Renaissance."^[1] Image File history File links Download high resolution version (966x720, 186 KB) The School of Athens - fresco by Raffaello Sanzio (w) From the web gallery of art wga. ... This article is about the Renaissance artist. ... 1509 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1510 (MDX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. ... For other uses, see Fresco (disambiguation). ... View across St. ... The Mona Lisa is perhaps the best-known artistic painting in the Western world. ... The Italian Renaissance began the opening phase of the Renaissance, a period of great cultural change and achievement in Europe that spanned the period from the end of the 14th century to about 1600, marking the transition between Medieval and Early Modern Europe. ... This article is about the Renaissance artist. ... Year 1510 (MDX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. ... Year 1511 (MDXI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. ... For other uses, see Fresco (disambiguation). ... The Raphael Rooms (also called the Raphael Stanze or, in Italian, Stanze di Raffaello) in the Palace of the Vatican are papal apartments with frescoes painted by the Italian artist Raphael and his workshop. ... View across St. ... La disputa or La disputa del sacramento (The Disputation of the Holy Sacrament) is a painting by the Italian renaissance artist Raphael. ... For other uses, see Masterpiece (disambiguation). ... The Creation of Adam, Michelangelos fresco from the . ...

The painting

The subject of the painting are various famous Greek philosophers. Commentators have long suggested that nearly every great Greek philosopher and scientist can be found within the painting, but figuring out who exactly is depicted in the painting is extremely difficult given the fact that Raphael did not explicitly state who the figures were suppose to represent, and there were no contempraneous documents that explain the painting.^[2] Compounding the problem, Raphael had to create a whole set of iconography to allude to the various scientist and philosophers in the painting, which had not previously existed.^[3][4] Nevertheless, there is widespread agreement on who certain select figures within the painting are suppose to be.^[5] Greek philosophy focused on the role of reason and inquiry. ... Look up Iconography in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

The setting

The building is in the shape of a Greek Cross, which some have suggested was intended to show a harmony between pagan philosophy and Christian theology.^[6] The architecture of the building was inspired by the work of Bramante, who according to Vasari helped Rapheal with the architecture in the picture.^[7] Some have suggested that the building itself was intended to be an advance view of St. Peter's Basilica.^[8] There are two sculptures in the background. The one on the left is the god Apollo holding a lyre.^[9] Apollo is the archer-god of medicine and healing, light, truth, archery, and music. The sculpture on the right is Athena, in her Roman guise as Minerva.^[10] Athena was the goddess of wisdom. This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Pagan may refer to: A believer in Paganism or Neopaganism Bagan, a city in Myanmar also known as Pagan Pagan (album), the 6th album by Celtic metal band Cruachan Pagan Island, of the Northern Mariana Islands Pagan Lorn, a metal band from Luxembourg, Europe (1994-1998) Pagans Mind, is... For other uses, see Philosophy (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Christian (disambiguation). ... Theology finds its scholars pursuing the understanding of and providing reasoned discourse of religion, spirituality and God or the gods. ... Donato Bramante Donato Bramante (1444 - March 11, 1514), Italian architect, who introduced the Early Renaissance style to Milan and the High Renaissance style to Rome, where his most famous design was St. ... Giorgio Vasari (Arezzo, Tuscany July 3, 1511 - Florence, June 27, 1574) was an Italian painter and architect, mainly known for his famous biographies of Italian artists. ... This article is about the famous building in Rome. ... For other uses, see Apollo (disambiguation). ... “Lyres” redirects here. ... For other uses, see Athena (disambiguation). ... Head of Minerva by Elihu Vedder, 1896 For other uses, see Minerva (disambiguation). ... For the 1986 American crime film, see Wisdom (film). ...

The figures

The identity of some of the philosophers in the picture, such as Plato or Aristotle, is uncontroversial, but scholars disagree on many of the other figures. According to Lahanas,^[11] they are usually identified as follows:

The bracketted names are the contemporary characters from whom Raphael is thought to have drawn his likenesses. 1: Zeno of Citium or Zeno of Elea? 2: Epicurus 3: Frederik II of Mantua? 4: Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius or Anaximander or Empedocles? 5: Averroes? 6: Pythagoras? 7: Alcibiades or Alexander the Great? 8: Antisthenes or Xenophon? 9: Hypatia (Francesco Maria della Rovere or Raphael's mistress Margherita.) 10: Aeschines or Xenophon? 11: Parmenides? 12: Socrates? 13: Heraclitus (Michelangelo). 14: Plato holding the Timaeus ( Leonardo da Vinci). 15: Aristotle holding the Ethics? 16: Diogenes of Sinope? 17: Plotinus? 18: Euclid or Archimedes with students ( Bramante)? 19: Strabo or Zoroaster? (Baldassare Castiglione or Pietro Bembo). 20: Ptolemy? R: Apelles (Raphael). 21: Protogenes (Il Sodoma or Perugino)^[12].

Image File history File links Raffaello_Scuola_di_Atene_numbered. ... Image File history File links Raffaello_Scuola_di_Atene_numbered. ... Zeno of Citium Zeno of Citium (The Stoic) (sometime called Zeno Apathea) (333 BC-264 BC) was a Hellenistic philosopher from Citium, Cyprus. ... Zeno of Elea (IPA:zÉ›noÊŠ, É›lɛɑː)(circa 490 BC? – circa 430 BC?) was a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher of southern Italy and a member of the Eleatic School founded by Parmenides. ... Epicure redirects here. ... Portrait of Federico II Gonzaga by Titian. ... For other people of the same name, see Boethius (disambiguation). ... Anaximander Possibly what Anaximanders map looked like Anaximander (Greek: Αναξίμανδρος)(c. ... Empedocles (Greek: , ca. ... Ibn Rushd, known as Averroes (1126 – December 10, 1198), was an Andalusian-Arab philosopher and physician, a master of philosophy and Islamic law, mathematics, and medicine. ... Pythagoras of Samos (Greek: ; between 580 and 572 BC–between 500 and 490 BC) was an Ionian (Greek) philosopher[1] and founder of the religious movement called Pythagoreanism. ... Alcibiades Cleiniou Scambonides (Greek: ; English /ælsɪbaɪədi:z/; 450 BC–404 BC), also transliterated as Alkibiades, was a prominent Athenian statesman, orator, and general. ... For the film of the same name, see Alexander the Great (1956 film). ... Portrait bust of Antisthenes Antisthenes (Greek: , c. ... Xenophon, Greek historian Xenophon (In Greek , ca. ... An imagined portrait of Hypatia of Alexandria Hypatia of Alexandria (Greek: Υπατία; born between 350 and 370 AD – 415 AD) was an Egypt-born [1] Greek[2][3] Neoplatonist philosopher, the first notable woman in mathematics, and who also taught in the fields of astronomy and astrology. ... Francesco Maria I della Rovere (March 22, 1490 - October 20, 1538) was an Italian condottiero, who was Duke of Urbino from 1508 until 1538. ... Aeschines (389 - 314 BC), Greek statesman and one of the ten Attic orators, was born at Athens. ... Xenophon, Greek historian Xenophon (In Greek , ca. ... Parmenides of Elea (Greek: , early 5th century BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher born in Elea, a Hellenic city on the southern coast of Italy. ... This page is about the Classical Greek philosopher. ... Heraclitus of Ephesus (Ancient Greek - Herákleitos ho Ephésios (Herakleitos the Ephesian)) (about 535 - 475 BC), known as The Obscure (Ancient Greek - ho Skoteinós), was a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher, a native of Ephesus on the coast of Asia Minor. ... For other uses, see Michelangelo (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Plato (disambiguation). ... Timaeus (Greek: Τίμαιος, Timaios) is a theoretical treatise of Plato in the form of a Socratic dialogue, written circa 360 BC. The work puts forward speculation on the nature of the physical world. ... “Da Vinci” redirects here. ... For other uses, see Aristotle (disambiguation). ... Nicomachean Ethics Nicomachean Ethics (sometimes spelled Nichomachean), or Ta Ethika, is a work by Aristotle on virtue and moral character which plays a prominent role in defining Aristotelian ethics. ... Diogenes (Greek: Diogenes o Sinopeus) the Cynic, Greek philosopher, was born in Sinope (modern day Sinop, Turkey) about 412 BC (according to other sources 399 BC), and died in 323 BC at Corinth. ... Plotinus (Greek: ) (ca. ... For other uses, see Euclid (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Archimedes (disambiguation). ... Donato Bramante Donato Bramante (1444 – March 11, 1514) was an Italian architect, who introduced the Early Renaissance style to Milan and the High Renaissance style to Rome, where his most famous design was St. ... The Greek geographer Strabo in a 16th century engraving. ... Zoroaster (Greek Ζωροάστρης, ZōroastrÄ“s) or Zarathustra (Avestan: ZaraθuÅ¡tra), also referred to as Zartosht (Persian: ), was an ancient Iranian prophet and religious poet. ... i love orange pekoe tea!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ... Pietro Bembo (May 20, 1470 - 18 January 1547), Italian cardinal and scholar. ... This article is about the geographer, mathematician and astronomer Ptolemy. ... Another Apelles was the founder of a Gnostic sect in the 2nd century; Apelles (gnostic). ... This article is about the Renaissance artist. ... Protogenes (fl. ... (1525) Oil on canvas, 206 x 154 cm Galleria Palatina, Florence Il Sodoma (1477 - February 14, 1549?) was the name given to the Italian Mannerist painter Giovanni Antonio Bazzi (also wrongly spelled Razzi). ... Christ presenting the Keys to St Peter Fresco, 335 x 550 cm Sistine Chapel, Rome Pietro Perugino (1446-1524), whose family name was properly Vannucci, Italian painter, was born at Città della Pieve in Umbria, and belongs to the Umbrian school of painting. ...

Center figures (14 and 15)

In the center of the painting, in front of the painting's vanishing point, are the two undisputed main subjects, Plato on the left and his student Aristotle on the right. Both figures are holding copies of their own books in their left hands. Plato is holding Timaeus and Aristotle is holding his Nicomachean Ethics. In addition, the two figures are gesturing in different directions. Plato has his right arm pointing to the heavens, which is a reference to Plato's ideas of the The Forms. In contrast, Aristotle gestures to the earth, representing his belief in knowledge through empirical observation and experience. Download high resolution version (804x1052, 186 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Download high resolution version (804x1052, 186 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... For other uses, see Vanishing point (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Plato (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Aristotle (disambiguation). ... Timaeus (Greek: Τίμαιος, Timaios) is a theoretical treatise of Plato in the form of a Socratic dialogue, written circa 360 BC. The work puts forward speculation on the nature of the physical world. ... Nicomachean Ethics Nicomachean Ethics (sometimes spelled Nichomachean), or Ta Ethika, is a work by Aristotle on virtue and moral character which plays a prominent role in defining Aristotelian ethics. ... Theory of Forms typically refers to Platos belief that the material world as it seems to us is not the real world, but only a shadow of the real world. ...

Supposedly, Plato was designed to resemble Leonardo da Vinci. “Da Vinci” redirects here. ...

Reproductions

The Victoria and Albert Museum has a rectangular version over 4 metres by 8 metres in size, painted on canvas, dated 1755 by Anton Raphael Mengs on display in the eastern Cast Court.^[13] The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the worlds largest and finest museum of decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 4. ... Anton Raphael Mengs (March 12, 1728 - June 29, 1779) was a German painter. ...

A reproduction of the fresco can be seen in the auditorium of Old Cabell Hall at the University of Virginia. Produced in 1900 by George W. Breck to replace an older reproduction that was destroyed in a fire in 1895, it is four inches off scale from the original, because the Vatican would not allow identical reproductions of its art works. ^[14] The University of Virginia (also called U.Va. ... Mid-19th century tool for converting between different standards of the inch An inch is an Imperial unit of length. ...

Another reproduction, by Neide, is in the Königsberg Cathedral, Kaliningrad. ^{[citation needed]} Modern view of the cathedral. ... Kaliningrad (Russian: ; Lithuanian: Karaliaučius; German  , Polish: Królewiec; briefly Russified as Kyonigsberg), is a seaport and the administrative center of Kaliningrad Oblast, the Russian exclave between Poland and Lithuania on the Baltic Sea. ...

More recently the image was used by Hard Rock band Guns N' Roses for their 1991 albums Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II. Extracts of the image, chiefly the two figures to the left of Plotinus (figure 17), were extracted by New York artist Mark Kostabi for the cover art. Guns N Roses is an American hard rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California in 1985. ... Year 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the 1991 Gregorian calendar). ... For other uses, see Use Your Illusion (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Use Your Illusion (disambiguation). ... Plotinus (Greek: ) (ca. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Another reproduction can be found in the University of North Carolina at Asheville's Highsmith University Student Union.^{[citation needed]} The University of North Carolina at Asheville (known for short as UNC Asheville) is a public liberal arts university in Asheville, North Carolina. ...

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

The School of Athens

• The School of Athens at the Web Gallery of Art
• The School of Athens (interactive map)
• The School of Athens (interactive map)
• The School of Athens — original cartoon at the Ambrosiana Gallery, Milan
• The School of Athens reproduction at UNC Asheville
• Article on school of athens
• Analysis of school of Athens
• Link from Google Books on analysis of school of athens
• Another link from Google books on the Shcool of Athens
• Reprint of the The Art Bulletin article on individuals in the painting.

Image File history File links Commons-logo. ...

Gallery

	Zeno of Citium or Zeno of Elea Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (2024x2467, 461 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): The School of Athens ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1000x1220, 80 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): The School of Athens ... Zeno of Citium Zeno of Citium (The Stoic) (sometime called Zeno Apathea) (333 BC-264 BC) was a Hellenistic philosopher from Citium, Cyprus. ... Zeno of Elea (IPA:zɛnoʊ, ɛlɛɑː)(circa 490 BC? – circa 430 BC?) was a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher of southern Italy and a member of the Eleatic School founded by Parmenides. ...	Epicurus Image File history File links Sanzio_01_Epicurus. ... Epicure redirects here. ...	Averroes and Pythagoras ImageMetadata File history File links Averroes_closeup. ... Ibn Rushd, known as Averroes (1126 – December 10, 1198), was an Andalusian-Arab philosopher and physician, a master of philosophy and Islamic law, mathematics, and medicine. ... Pythagoras of Samos (Greek: ; between 580 and 572 BC–between 500 and 490 BC) was an Ionian (Greek) philosopher[1] and founder of the religious movement called Pythagoreanism. ...
Pythagoras Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (776x963, 59 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): The School of Athens ... Pythagoras of Samos (Greek: ; between 580 and 572 BC–between 500 and 490 BC) was an Ionian (Greek) philosopher[1] and founder of the religious movement called Pythagoreanism. ...	Alcibiades or Alexander the Great and Antisthenes or Xenophon Image File history File links Download high resolution version (776x957, 63 KB) Description: Title: de: Stanza della Segnatura im Vatikan für Papst Julius II., Wandfresko: Die Schule von Athen, Detail: Alexander der Große Technique: de: Fresko Dimensions: Country of origin: de: Italien Current location (city): de: Rom Current... Alcibiades Cleiniou Scambonides (Greek: ; English /ælsɪbaɪədi:z/; 450 BC–404 BC), also transliterated as Alkibiades, was a prominent Athenian statesman, orator, and general. ... For the film of the same name, see Alexander the Great (1956 film). ... Portrait bust of Antisthenes Antisthenes (Greek: , c. ... Xenophon, Greek historian Xenophon (In Greek , ca. ...	Francesco Maria I della Rovere or Raphael's mistress as Hypatia of Alexandria and Parmenides Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1000x1229, 76 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): The School of Athens ... Francesco Maria I della Rovere (March 22, 1490 - October 20, 1538) was an Italian condottiero, who was Duke of Urbino from 1508 until 1538. ... An imagined portrait of Hypatia of Alexandria Hypatia of Alexandria (Greek: Υπατία; born between 350 and 370 AD – 415 AD) was an Egypt-born [1] Greek[2][3] Neoplatonist philosopher, the first notable woman in mathematics, and who also taught in the fields of astronomy and astrology. ... Parmenides of Elea (Greek: , early 5th century BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher born in Elea, a Hellenic city on the southern coast of Italy. ...	Parmenides Image File history File links Sanzio_01_Parmenides. ... Parmenides of Elea (Greek: , early 5th century BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher born in Elea, a Hellenic city on the southern coast of Italy. ...
Aeschines and Socrates Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1000x1228, 79 KB) File links The following pages link to this file: Raphael Rooms ... Aeschines (389 - 314 BC), Greek statesman and one of the ten Attic orators, was born at Athens. ... This page is about the Classical Greek philosopher. ...	Michelangelo as Heraclitus Image File history File links Download high resolution version (776x965, 53 KB) Description: Title: de: Stanza della Segnatura im Vatikan für Papst Julius II., Wandfresko: Die Schule von Athen, Detail: Heraklit Technique: de: Fresko Dimensions: Country of origin: de: Italien Current location (city): de: Rom Current location (gallery): de... For other uses, see Michelangelo (disambiguation). ... Heraclitus of Ephesus (Ancient Greek - Herákleitos ho Ephésios (Herakleitos the Ephesian)) (about 535 - 475 BC), known as The Obscure (Ancient Greek - ho Skoteinós), was a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher, a native of Ephesus on the coast of Asia Minor. ...	Leonardo da Vinci as Plato Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1000x1241, 80 KB) Description: Title: de: Stanza della Segnatura im Vatikan für Papst Julius II., Wandfresko: Die Schule von Athen, Detail: Platon Technique: de: Fresko Dimensions: Country of origin: de: Italien Current location (city): de: Rom Current location (gallery): de... “Da Vinci” redirects here. ... For other uses, see Plato (disambiguation). ...	Aristotle Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1000x1245, 81 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): The School of Athens ... For other uses, see Aristotle (disambiguation). ...
Diogenes Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1000x1227, 78 KB) Description: Title: de: Stanza della Segnatura im Vatikan für Papst Julius II., Wandfresko: Die Schule von Athen, Detail: Diogenes Technique: de: Fresko Dimensions: Country of origin: de: Italien Current location (city): de: Rom Current location (gallery): de... Diogenes (Greek: Diogenes o Sinopeus) the Cynic, Greek philosopher, was born in Sinope (modern day Sinop, Turkey) about 412 BC (according to other sources 399 BC), and died in 323 BC at Corinth. ...	Bramante as Euclid or Archimedes Download high resolution version (930x1094, 173 KB) Detail of The School of Athens ( full image) by Raffaello Santi, 1509, showing Euclid The two-dimensional work of art depicted in this image is in the public domain in the United States and in those countries with a copyright term of life... Donato Bramante Donato Bramante (1444 - March 11, 1514), Italian architect, who introduced the Early Renaissance style to Milan and the High Renaissance style to Rome, where his most famous design was St. ... For other uses, see Euclid (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Archimedes (disambiguation). ...	Strabo or Zoroaster, Ptolemy, Raphael as Apelles and Il Sodoma as Protogenes Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (2048x1205, 145 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): The School of Athens ... The Greek geographer Strabo in a 16th century engraving. ... Zoroaster (Greek Ζωροάστρης, Zōroastrēs) or Zarathustra (Avestan: Zaraθuštra), also referred to as Zartosht (Persian: ), was an ancient Iranian prophet and religious poet. ... This article is about the geographer, mathematician and astronomer Ptolemy. ... Another Apelles was the founder of a Gnostic sect in the 2nd century; Apelles (gnostic). ... (1525) Oil on canvas, 206 x 154 cm Galleria Palatina, Florence Il Sodoma (1477 - February 14, 1549?) was the name given to the Italian Mannerist painter Giovanni Antonio Bazzi (also wrongly spelled Razzi). ... Protogenes (fl. ...