Italian Renaissance Era
School of Athens
Raphael, School of Athens, 1508–11; in the Stanza della Segnatura in the Vatican.
A room in Pope Julius II's private places at the Vatican contains a painting by artist Raphael named School of Athens. The School of Athens was one of the most important works of art created during the Renaissance and the most well-known of all of Raphael's paintings. Donato Bramante suggested to Julius II and summoned Raphael to Rome at the end of 1508.
Raffaello Santi, who would later become known as Raphael, was born in Urbino in central Italy during the early Renaissance. His father, Duke Federigo da Montefeltro's court painter Giovanni Santi, taught his son his first lessons in painting. His art is praised for its simplicity and ability to visually realize the Neoplatonic ideal of human magnificence. The well-known room, the Stanza della Segnatura, contains murals with the historical explanation of the Roman Catholic Church's dominance through Neoplatonic philosophy.
Art Elements
Both Aristotle and Plato are surrounded by philosophers from the past and present in the beautiful architectural setting of The School of Athens. It shows how Platonic thought endured throughout time. Raphael uses a variety of poses and gestures to fill an organized and steady space with figures. He uses these poses and gestures to control how one group of figures flows into the next in a connecting pattern, drawing the viewer's attention to the two main figures in this painting at the point where the perspectival space converges.
To give the appearance of depth on a flat surface, Raphael uses a single vanishing point. The School of Athens seems like a huge building even though it was painted directly onto a wall. His attention to detail is also demonstrated by his skillful use of symbolism. In the Renaissance era, advanced techniques like linear perspective, realistic depiction, the creation of contrast between light and dark, and a soft, hazy technique to transition between colors were used. These techniques reached their peak during this period of time. He painted the people realistically and this painting is aesthetically pleasing, it gives me a calm mind and feeling when I look at this piece.
Hi Haley, I didn't know of this painting until you wrote about it. The vibrant bold colors at the front of the painting and the hazy light colors at the back make this painting pop as though it were three-dimensional. The use of one-point perspective in this painting is perfect for the scene it is portraying. I wonder how long this painting took to make, all the people in the painting have so much detail and the landscape is extremely detailed also.
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ReplyDeleteThis painting is really amazing, I had no idea it was painted directly onto a wall. I really like the pops of blue in the sky and people's clothing, it really stands out to me against the walls of the school. I also thought it was interesting that his father was also a painter and that he was Raphael's first teacher. It is funny to me how highly people thought of themselves in this time. You stated it really well as "the Neoplatonic ideal of human magnificence" in the second paragraph. Raphael made the men in this painting appear that that is what they believe, especially making the scene in the school when this was a time man was learning and discovering so many things and having their own opinions and thinking so highly of themselves.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy this painting, especially the orange and cream colors. I love how you broke down your thoughts on the painting, it's easy to digest what you are trying to get across. I wonder how long this took to paint and what the overall process was. thank you for sharing
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