Vatican City, Italy (Enclave of Rome): Vatican Museums: Raphael Rooms: Room of the Signature: School of Athens
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Authors
Sheppard, Beth M.
Issue Date
May 20, 2017
Type
Image
Language
Keywords
Italy , Vatican City , Rome , Vatican Museums , Musei Vaticani , Art Museums , Sacred Art , Church Art , Paintings , Frescoes , Raphael , Raffaello Sanzio , Raphael Rooms , Stanze , Room of the Signature , Stanza Della Segnatura , High Renaissance Art , Italian High Renaissance Art , Christian Humanism in Art , School of Athens , Scuola di Atene , Historical Figures in Art , Plato in Art , Aristotle in Art , Michelangelo in Art
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Abstract
Description
One of the most famous paintings in the world is "The School of Athens" (in Italian: "Scuola di Atene") within The Room of the Signature (Stanza della Segnatura), which is one of four Raphael Rooms that are part of the Vatican Museums. These are public museums that display about 20,000 of 70K works collected by the Catholic Church and the papacy throughout the centuries. The museums were founded by Pope Julius II in the early 16th century. Only the Louvre in France receives more annual visitors than the Vatican Museums. The museums consist of 24 galleries, with the Sistine Chapel being the last room visited. The Raphael Rooms (known in Italian as the Stanze), which precede the Sistine Chapel on a tour of the Vatican Museums, were the private chambers of several popes. The paintings in the Rooms, designed by the master but completed over 15 years (1508-1524) primarily by Raphael's pupils, depict historic events that are framed in exuberant High Renaissance style. The monumental "School of Athens" (18 x 25 feet) was painted 1509-1511 by Raphael in the first of the Stanze to be decorated. It depicts an idealized gathering of ancient scientists, mathematicians, artists, scholars, and philosophers in a classical setting, with Raphael employing techniques such as vanishing points and accurate perspective projection. Many historical figures, such as Plato and Aristotle (central figures in red and blue robes at the vanishing point), are represented in the painting. Michelangelo's features are used in the foreground for the seated figure of Heraclitus (dark hair, light purple tunic, brown boots). This fresco made a stunning impact on Roman art and is generally regarded as Raphael's greatest masterpiece. According to Vasari ("The Lives of the Artists"), the fresco depicts "the theologians reconciling philosophy and astrology with theology" and Raphael "portrayed all the wise men of the world presenting different arguments" (Vasari, 312).
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CC BY-NC-SA 4.0