The School of Athens by Raphael: Great Art Explained

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In the early 1500s,

two of the greatest artists of all time were working just a few rooms

apart in the Vatican.

Michelangelo was painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, at the same time,

Raphael was working on a painting in the Pope's private library,

the school of Athens.

Both are considered masterpieces of the Renaissance.

Michelangelo's work set out to reveal divine truth through the human form,

while Raphael's work celebrates human intellect and classical heritage,

two defining ideas of the Renaissance.

Michelangelo, a brooding, difficult loner, paints figures charged with emotion and tension,

figures who often struggle alone and who are deeply introspective.

By contrast, Raphael was sociable, charming, and widely adored, and his work is balanced,

serene, and idealised.

His figures are elegant, calm, engaged, and intellectually poised.

The sort of company the artist surrounded himself with in real life.

Both artists shared a sense of theatre,

and the School of Athens is certainly a theatrical painting.

It is clearly a stage set with a precenium arch, props, costumes,

and a cast of characters.

And as we shall see,

it is a painting where everyone is playing a role.

One day, so the legend goes, when Michelangelo was away from Rome,

Raphael sneaked in to see the, as yet unfinished ceiling,

and what he saw astonished him.

He promptly returned to his own painting, the school of Athens,

which was more or less finished and made a last minute change.

He added a portrait of Michelangelo, his colleague and rival, not as himself though,

but as the ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus, also known as the weeping philosopher.

It could be seen as the ultimate tribute, but it was so much more.

Raphael died tragically young at just 37.

And yet what he left behind is nothing short of extraordinary.

In a career spanning just 20 years,

the Vatican Commission was the beginning of the most important phase of his short

but remarkable career.

Three giants of the High Renaissance were all active around the same time.

Michelangelo, Raphael, and Leonardo da Vinci.

Each was trying to outdo the other

while at the same time the popes were trying to outdo their predecessors with

extravagant commissions.

Pope Julius II who commissioned the Raphael frescos

as well as the Sistine chapel despised his predecessor Alexander VI

and artistic commissions were a way for him to stamp his mark.

Together, artists and patrons pushed Renaissance art to exceptional heights.

In the Vatican, Raphael was just meters away from Michelangelo who he greatly admired.

But the feeling was not mutual.

Michelangelo saw Raphael as a threat and had accused him of stealing ideas.

Before this period, artists were often anonymous craftsmen.

Then they began to be recognized

as individual geniuses when patrons like the Medici helped elevate their social standing.

They weren't celebrities as such, but some like Raphael and Michelangelo were widely known,

admired, and even mythologised in their own lifetimes.

In the School of Athens,

Raphael places artists amongst the great thinkers of the world.

By showing Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci,

Donato Bramante and himself among the giants of history,

he is elevating the role of the artist to that of philosopher,

intellectual and visionary.

This is the beginning of the artist as a personality and a public figure.

In 1508, a 25-year-old Raphael was summoned to the Vatican by Pope Julius II

to decorate a suite of rooms in the Pope's private apartments.

For the ambitious young painter, it was the opportunity of a lifetime.

The first room that Raphael tackled was the stanza della Segnatura

or the room of the signature.

At the time of the commission, it was the Pope's private library.

This is precisely the period when the philosophers, mathematicians,

and scientists who had been forgotten about for centuries were being rediscovered

and their texts translated.

The rebirth of ideas or what we now call the Renaissance.

There was even a belief in Rome

that you could trace the development of philosophical thought from Zoroasta in the 6th

century B.C.E. to Christian thinking.

And that is what Raphael was hired to illustrate.

His concept for the room was ambitious.

He wanted to represent the totality of human knowledge in four branches: Theology, philosophy,

poetry, and law.

The idea was that Pope Julius would place his collection of theology books under

the theology fresco,

his philosophy books under the philosophy fresco, and so on.

The walls are designed to be conversations between opposites,

a humanist synthesis of classical

and Christian traditions and to emphasize their complimentary roles in the pursuit of ultimate

truth.

In Raphael's decorative scheme, law faces poetry and philosophy,

what we now call the school of Athens, faces theology.

The open sky to the outside world is one way in

which Raphael links all the four walls.

Theology - or the study of the divine - is centred entirely on the eucharist,

and the concept of transubstantiation.

The belief that during mass the bread

and wine become the actual body

and blood of Christ.

Figures in the fresco include God the father, Jesus Christ and the holy spirit,

amongst church figures like Aquinus, Augustine, and Pope Gregory the Great,

who laid the groundwork for this core Catholic belief.

The painting is a clear-cut piece of theological propaganda.

Whilst only feet away on the opposite wall,

the school of Athens represents philosophy and features pagan philosophers,

which seems an unusual choice at first, pagans in the Holy Father's library.

But the prominent placement of figures of humanist classical teaching like Plato

and Aristotle opposite Christian figures of prophets

and saints,

reveals a great deal about the intellectual and spiritual climate of the high Renaissance,

especially under Pope Julius II.

Their placement on opposite walls reflects the humanist view

that classical wisdom could co-exist with Christian doctrine.

The church, particularly during the Renaissance,

was on a mission to absorb

and elevate the wisdom of antiquity by positioning ancient philosophers

as precursors to Christian truth.

This is why the school of Athens has become known

as the embodiment of the Renaissance.

In Raphael's paintings, faith and reason, scripture and science,

revelation and inquiry are not enemies, but partners in the search for truth,

and we should look at it

as a powerful visual testament to the intellectual

and spiritual confidence of the time.

To emphasise the theme of each wall,

Raphael has painted an allegorical medallion above each fresco,

helping viewers interpret the more complex wall fresco below.

This figure is holding a book labeled "knowledge of causes" and represents philosophy.

This graceful figure in flowing robes is holding a lyre

which links her to Apollo.

So she represents poetry.

This woman holding scales and a sword is justice - representing law.

And this woman holding a book inscribed with "knowledge of divine things" represents theology.

Raphael clearly looked to Michelangelo's ceiling for inspiration for the allegorical figures.

After completing the "Disputa", the theology fresco,

he turned to the most famous of his four fresco decorating the stanza de

laura,

the school of Athens on the opposite wall.

We are incredibly lucky

that his full-scale preparatory drawing

or cartoon has survived from this period

which tells us so much about the work

that would become one of the most celebrated paintings in western art.

Raphael was not just a painter.

He was also a stage designer, printer, architect, poet, tapestry designer, and intellectual.

And many of these skills would filter down into the School of Athens.

The young artist brilliantly transforms what could have been a static parade of historical

figures from several eras,

into something full of movement, dynamism, clarity, and subtle drama.

Using thoughtful composition, carefully placed gestures, and dynamic groupings,

he helps us make sense of what might otherwise feel like a long list

of names from a philosophy textbook.

The stage is set by the clever use of the architecture of the room

itself.

Raphael uses a series of Roman arcs

and circles which frame the action within the architecture of the room.

Then he repeats the shape in receding forms through the coffered barrelled vault ceiling,

creating depth.

He has placed his ancient philosophers not in Greece

but in a grand Roman interior,

reminiscent of the Basilica of Maxentius which Raphael was very familiar with.

Some believe the architecture is based on early plans for the new St.

Peter's Basilica (no longer existing) drawn up by Raphael's friend

and mentor Donato Bramante who features in the school of Athens

as Uclid.

It was Brante who recommended Raphael to Pope Julius II.

The question is whether Raphael is deliberately "Romanising" the space to connect the ancient

Greek philosophers to Rome,

or whether he simply didn't know about Greek architecture.

Either way, the architecture isn't just a backdrop.

It is there to connect the intellectual

and artistic achievements of classical antiquity to the Renaissance.

Raphael leads our eyes up to the grand precenium arch using single point perspective

to focus our gaze on the central figures of Plato

and Aristotle,

who anchor the composition - while the rest of the painting radiates outwards from them,

visually and thematically.

The painting is divided into two halves of almost equal number of characters.

The left represents the philosophy of the ideal,

the belief that ultimate reality is found not in the physical world embodied by

Plato.

And the right represents empiricism and the study of the natural world,

science and reason embodied by Aristotle.

Even the ancient gods set into the architecture as statues reinforce this duality.

On the left is Apollo, the god of poetry and music,

who is linked to hearing, a sense connected to abstract ideas, harmony,

and the ideal.

On the right is Athena, the goddess of wisdom, who is linked to vision,

the sense most tied to evidence, reason, and the physical world.

So, the sensory divide mirrors the philosophical one.

Hearing for the ideal, vision for the empirical.

Raphael even sneaks in a self-portrait on the right hand side,

the side of vision, the voice of evidence-based thinking.

In this film, I want to do something different.

We will look at the full cast of characters,

but then I want to pay special attention to the figure of Heraclitus.

The figures are mainly in groups with a couple of exceptions

and mostly Greek philosophers

but not exclusively.

They are standing, sitting, discussing, listening and taking notes,

creating a real sense of movement and energy and most importantly cooperation.

Plato and his student Aristotle,

two of the most influential thinkers in Western philosophy take centre stage.

Each of them has played a major role in shaping western thought

and their distinct philosophical ideas were integrated into Christian doctrine in different ways.

Plato - holding his book "The Timeus" - believed that true knowledge comes from above,

from the metaphysical world - and he gestures upwards towards the heavens.

Aristotle who holds his "Ethics",

was grounded in the empirical world - that which can be observed,

categorized and reasoned through in daily human experience.

And he extends his hand outward, palm facing down towards the earth.

Those simple gestures captured something essential about these two philosophers,

but also reveal something of Raphael's own time.

Plato is portrayed using the likeness of Leonardo da Vinci,

who Raphael had studied and almost certainly knew.

Here, it's a visual argument that Leonardo, like Plato, sought eternal truths, unified disciplines,

and elevated human thought, making him the perfect embodiment of the Platonic ideal.

Raphael then arranges the other philosophers to align loosely with this abstract versus practical

divide.

To the left of Plato, we can see Socrates who is shown mid-discussion,

embodying the Socratic method, a form of cooperative argumentation through questioning and logical reasoning.

In the foreground writing sits the mathematician Pythagoras,

surrounded by students writing his philosophy based on the harmonic proportions of music.

Pythagoras's presence on the left side beneath Apollo, the god of music,

reinforces the connection between mathematics and the harmony of sound.

Just above Pythagoras is a figure in a white cloak with a hand on

their chest.

It is thought to be a portrait of the Pope's nephew.

His feminine features reflect the revived classical Greek ideals where youthful men often had

androgynous features.

Some suggest it is Hipatia,

the greatest mathematician and astronomer of her time during the late Roman Empire

and the only woman in a room full of men.

Like many in Raphael's painting, identities can be ambiguous and shift as time passes.

Raphael also includes Islamic scholarship in his grand tableau.

A figure in a turban is thought to be Avieros,

the influential Spanish Arabian philosopher who also contributed to early music theory.

Moving over to the right side of the painting,

we move from the ideal to the empirical,

from the world of theory to the world of evidence and observation.

In the right foreground, we see another contemporary figure, Bramante,

playing the part of Uclid.

He is pictured opposite Pythagoras the idealist

and by contrast represents mathematics

as a practical rational tool for understanding space

and structure.

In other words, observation, logic and method over mysticism.

He is explaining geometry to his pupils, showing us the stages of understanding.

One leans forward reading, another turns to his companion as he grasps the concept.

The one above is already thinking about how to apply his newfound knowledge.

Comprehension grows as we move around the group.

Raphael reinforces the theme of pedagogy, teaching, and learning.

Both Uclid and Pythagoras are surrounded by students,

showing how important knowledge

and learning were to Raphael

and the intellectual climate of the Vatican.

The man with his back turned holding a globe is thought to be Ptolemy,

the astronomer, mathematician, and geographer.

While the figure holding a celestial globe is likely to be Zoroasta,

the Iranian prophet associated with astrology and cosmology.

Raphael's overarching message is that truth is a shared human endeavor,

not confined to geography, religion, or even philosophical schools.

And there amongst Ptolemy and Zoroasta,

the very cream of intellectual thought is Raphael himself,

whose placement here may signal the artist's role

as a modern synthesizer of cosmic

and earthly knowledge.

And just below Aristotle, we see the first of our two lone figures, Diogenes,

the cynic, the outsider, who often insulted or ignored other philosophers, especially Plato,

who he mocked for being too "abstract".

Raphael places him right on the steps beneath Plato and Aristotle,

symbolizing how challengers and critics are part of philosophy's legacy.

But now let's focus on the other lone figure.

The figure is Heraclitus of Ephesus, also known as "the weeping philosopher,

one who retired to the mountains to contemplate the cosmos apart from society.

Like Diogenes, Raphael has him alone,

absorbed in thought and brooding as he leans on a block of marble.

He is not classically dressed like the others,

but more like a stone cutter

or sculptor - and his heavy limbs

and worn dogskin boots identify him unmistakably

as Michelangelo.

The figure's muscular form is stylistically distinct from the rest of the fresco,

more "Michelangelo-esque", and it is suggested

that once again Raphael was inspired by his secret visit to the Sistine chapel.

The two artists were contemporaries but radically different people, opposites even.

Michelangelo was not welcoming to the new boy wonder.

After all, it wasn't

so long ago that he too was the hot new artist in Rome.

Despite this, Raphael deeply admired Michelangelo's art

and I think he included him

as Heraclitus in the school of Athens,

first as a tribute to his philosophical

and artistic stature and secondly to encapsulate larger ideas.

If we look at the preparatory drawing,

it clearly shows the composition without the figure.

Raphael never intended to have a figure there

and in fact the entire painting was already finished

when he saw the Sistine chapel ceiling.

He then went back to his work and made a dramatic last minute change.

Because of the fresco technique -

as explained in other videos on this channel - this is not an easy

task.

It involved scraping back the image,

adding fresh new plaster and painting on top of dried paint.

It is extremely hard to match up the two different areas.

The inclusion of Michelangelo

as Heraclitus is so perfect

and so central to Renaissance thinking

that it is surprising it was a last minute decision.

It is as if Raphael's viewing of the Sistine chapel ceiling brought on a

Eureka moment.

Heraclitus was important in the Renaissance

because his ideas aligned closely with the intellectual

and artistic values of the period,

particularly his emphasis on "change" and "the unity of opposites".

At a time when Renaissance artists, scientists,

and philosophers were rethinking the very nature of reality, perception, and truth,

Heraclitus's most famous idea that "everything flows", stated that reality is not fixed,

but is in constant motion and transformation.

And this view perfectly aligned with the Renaissance's radical break from medieval scholasticism,

which had emphasized stability and eternal truths.

The world, Heraclitus suggested, is constantly changing, and so are we.

Even his inkwell, balanced precariously on the edge of the marble block,

hints at mutability and movement, the flow of ink,

alluding to the flow of water, of thought, of time.

Science during the Renaissance was beginning to observe and describe a dynamic universe.

And Heracitis's ideas suddenly felt modern and relevant.

It gave the Renaissance thinkers a language for embracing change, paradox, and creative insight.

All central to the era's rebirth of art, science, and human thought.

The idea of the unity of opposites is integral to this thinking.

And Heracitis saw opposites as interconnected and necessary, not contradictory,

essential for the existence of each other.

For example, hot cannot be understood without cold.

Likewise, light cannot be understood without darkness.

The unity of these opposites is what defines reality.

Raphael places Heraclitus on the left of the painting.

His ideas sit better on this Platonic side, the world of ideas,

but visually he looks like he should be on the right.

His flat marble slab echoing the horizontal nature of Aristotle's book and Uclid's slate,

and his heavy boots seem grounded in reality.

And so Michelangelo (as Heraclitus) becomes the unity of opposites,

a bridge between the two sides

and a reminder that truth also comes from doubt,

solitude and shadow.

By including Michelangelo as Heraclitus,

Raphael has perfectly encapsulated and unified the most important core ideas of Renaissance thinking.

It is a celebration of personal identity and intellectual originality.

If the School of Athens is the embodiment of the Renaissance,

then Heracitis is its anchor.

Raphael reminded us that opposites are not necessarily contradictions,

but parts of a unified whole.

He draws connections between old and new, the ideal and the worldly,

between theology and science, and rivalry and kinship.

That perhaps is the true legacy of the school of Athens.

It's not just a celebration of knowledge,

but an invitation to live with and even enjoy complexity and nuance,

to recognise that difference need not mean division.

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