Using Art to Understand Values: Raphael’s School of Athens

Many art historians consider the School of Athens to be Raphael’s masterpiece. It is considered one of the best examples of High Renaissance art. In 1508, Pope Julian II commissioned the young Raphael to paint a series of frescoes in the Vatican papal chambers, the Stanza della Segnatura. At the same time that Raphael worked on the fresco, Michelangelo painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.

The School of Athens shows a gathering of leading ancient Greek philosophers. Plato and Aristotle appear in the center with a blue sky in the background. Diogenes the Cynic is the old man lying on the steps. Art historians believe that Michelangelo is portrayed in the foreground as the philosopher Heraclitus, the man writing on a stone block. How are the values of the Renaissance reflected in the painting?

1. What is the subject of the painting?2. Describe the setting portrayed in Raphael’s School of Athens.

3. Characterize the appearance and actions of the figures in the fresco. How are they arranged around Plato and Aristotle?

4. In the painting, Plato (whom many art historians say is modeled after Leonardo da Vinci) is pointing upward and Aristotle, his student (whom many say is modeled on Raphael) is pointing downward. Plato points upward to confirm his commitment to a theory of ideas. Why do you think Aristotle points downwards?

5. On the left side of the painting is a statue of Apollo, while on the right is a statue of Athena. Why do you think Raphael included these two statues in the scene?

6. Socrates is at the left of the painting, counting out points with his fingers to a group of younger men (including Alexander the Great in armor). At the right, bending over a geometric diagram, is Euclid. Below him Ptolemy, also a Greek but of a later time, holds a globe. Why do you think Raphael included these men?

7. At the time the School of Athens was painted, what did Renaissance Italy have in common with the fresco subject matter?

8. What Renaissance values are reflected in Raphael’s School of Athens?9. What areas of learning are represented in the painting? By whom?10. What Renaissance artistic techniques appear in the School of Athens?