The School of Athens is a fresco by Raphael that sits in the Vatican. This fresco is probably the most known and acclaimed work by Raphael. It stands opposite from another famous fresco done by Raphael, La Disputa. .
This beautiful artwork shows many thinkers during that time. The school depicted commands awe much as a cathedral does. The fresco appears alive by the brilliance of the individuals who frequent its hall. Plato and Aristotle seem to be in a conversation with each other about the absolute truths. They are the two in the middle of the fresco walking towards the viewers. Plato is the one on the left pointing upwards to the heavens. And Aristotle is the one on the right pointing downwards to the earth. We also see other great thinkers as Socrates and Diogenes. It is also funny that Raphael has also painted himself in the fresco as well mixed in with other great thinkers. It's almost like trying to find Waldo. He is in the far right of the picture next to Ptolemy. Maybe Raphael is trying to tell the viewers about his deep interest in philosophy by putting himself in the picture as well. .
There are many things to focus on in this fresco. At first, it seemed as if .
Aristotle and Plato were the main focus of the fresco. But the school itself is probably the one that must be focused. The people are all in the lower bottom. The people in the fresco are like the environment. They create the mood of the fresco. The building itself is well lit and drawn very sharply with fine details. .
But the focus on the building is entirely appropriate, since the people themselves are just a bunch of people talking. It was the school itself that is being presented. But the funny thing is that the school itself never existed. The fresco shows how the School of Athens would have been like if it did exist with many brilliant philosophers in many different groups talking and enlightening each other.