Fotoreproductie van het fresco De school van Athene door Rafaël; The School of Athens
Title
Fotoreproductie van het fresco De school van Athene door Rafaël; The School of Athens
Description
“The School of Athens” is considered by many as one of Raphael’s greatest artistic creations. Raphael was drawing on the rebirth of the analytical questioning of the classics and the works of the “ancient” peoples. In this image, Raphael paints some of the most significant people who contributed to Western thinking including, Plato, Socrates, Aristotle, and many others. Raphael paints Plato and Aristotle close together to signify their different camps of philosophy and to show their divergence in their philosophical beliefs. This painting was created around the time of many political changes such as the shift away from the church and more towards individual rulers. This would have caused many people to look towards the past and would have inspired many of them to write about it. This reexamining of the past would play an important role inspiring political commentators, such as Machiavelli, who argued against ideas presented by Aristotle about the role of ethics in politics (Harrison). It was necessary for a reemergence of “ancient ideas” in to take place to create a catalyst that would initiate an era of new thoughts.
“ School of Athens’ was not an isolated painting that conveyed a political messages. Giotto di Bondone, arguably the individual who first developed renaissance techniques of art. This artwork would be used for political means to portray a sense of power from the Vatican and other Italian city states. The statue of David was “commissioned by the Florentine city council as a symbol of the city”, which portrays the significance of art as a political message (Weisner Hanks 154). Art represented a states wealth and security, which was why it was so heavily encouraged by the Italian city-states.
“ School of Athens’ was not an isolated painting that conveyed a political messages. Giotto di Bondone, arguably the individual who first developed renaissance techniques of art. This artwork would be used for political means to portray a sense of power from the Vatican and other Italian city states. The statue of David was “commissioned by the Florentine city council as a symbol of the city”, which portrays the significance of art as a political message (Weisner Hanks 154). Art represented a states wealth and security, which was why it was so heavily encouraged by the Italian city-states.
Creator
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino (Raphael)
Source
Urbino, Raffaello. The School of Athens. 1530-1582. Rijksmuseum, Netherlands.
Date
1530 - 1582
Rights
Public Domain
Citation
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino (Raphael), “Fotoreproductie van het fresco De school van Athene door Rafaël; The School of Athens,” HIST 139 - Early Modern Europe, accessed July 20, 2025, https://earlymoderneurope.hist.sites.carleton.edu/items/show/59.