Fifth article in the Raphael series, devoted to the most famous fresco of the Renaissance. To deepen your Italian through art and philosophy, book a private online lesson or join the course waiting list at my-italian-teacher.ch.
The artwork at a glance
- Artist: Raphael
- Title: The School of Athens (Scuola di Atene)
- Date: c. 1509–1511 (the decoration of the room ran from 1508 to 1511)
- Medium and size: fresco, about 7.7 m wide at the base
- Patron: Pope Julius II della Rovere (pope from 1503 to 1513)
- Location: Room of the Segnatura, Vatican Museums, Vatican City
- Preparatory cartoon: Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, Milan
Raphael arrives in Rome
At the end of 1508 Raphael, aged twenty-five, was called to Rome by Pope Julius II. The pope was turning the city into an artistic capital: Bramante was designing the new basilica of Saint Peter’s, Michelangelo was painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Raphael was entrusted with decorating some rooms of the papal apartment. His first frescoes pleased the pope so much that, according to Vasari, the other painters at work were dismissed and the whole cycle passed to the young man from Urbino.
Raphael’s School of Athens was born in this climate. It is an ideal assembly of the philosophers and scientists of antiquity, gathered in a grandiose architectural setting. The Vatican Museums present it as the image of rational Truth, that is, of Philosophy. But it is also a collective portrait of the Renaissance: among the ancient sages appear the faces of contemporary artists, and Raphael himself is portrayed among them.
Many identifications circulate for this fresco, some secure and some not, and we’ll try to tell them apart. That is also why the Italian workshop is about the subjunctive, the mood we use for hypotheses and opinions.
1. The Room of the Segnatura and its programme
The room takes its name from the Segnatura Gratiae et Iustitiae, the highest court of the Holy See, which met here around the middle of the sixteenth century. In Julius II’s time, however, it was his library and private study. The programme of the frescoes, painted between 1508 and 1511, is linked to this function: the walls represent the great categories of knowledge.
| Wall | Discipline | Idea represented |
|---|---|---|
| Disputation of the Holy Sacrament | Theology | Supernatural Truth |
| School of Athens | Philosophy | Rational Truth |
| Cardinal and Theological Virtues, the Law | Jurisprudence | The Good |
| Parnassus | Poetry | The Beautiful |
On the vault, the allegorical figures of Theology, Philosophy, Justice and Poetry correspond to the walls below. The whole expresses an ideal typical of Christian humanism: the reconciliation of ancient wisdom and faith, of reason and revelation.
2. The architecture: a basilica that did not yet exist
The philosophers move within a majestic building with coffered barrel vaults and a barely suggested dome. According to the Vatican Museums, this architecture is inspired by Bramante’s project for the renewal of Saint Peter’s, which had only just begun. Raphael thus paints a “future” building, making visible Julius II’s ambition to found a new Rome on the model of the ancient one.
Two large statues stand in the niches: on the left Apollo, god of the arts and of light, on the right Minerva, goddess of wisdom. The perspective converges at the centre, between the two main figures, who stand out against the sky.
3. The figures: who is who
At the centre: Plato and Aristotle
At the centre of the scene walk the two masters of Greek philosophy. Plato holds his dialogue Timaeus, devoted to the origin of the cosmos, and points upwards: true knowledge concerns ideas, the intelligible world. Aristotle holds the Ethics and stretches out his hand palm down: knowledge starts from experience of the concrete world. In two gestures Raphael sums up two ways of thinking that run through the whole history of Western philosophy.
Other sages identified by the Vatican Museums
- Pythagoras, in the left foreground, explains the diatesseron, the musical interval of a fourth, in a book.
- Diogenes, lying on the steps with his bowl, embodies cynical indifference to convention.
- Heraclitus, leaning on a marble block and writing, has the features of Michelangelo.
- Euclid, on the right, teaches geometry to his pupils, bending over with a compass.
- Zoroaster holds the celestial globe, Ptolemy the terrestrial one.
- On the far right, the figure in the black cap is Raphael’s self-portrait.
Documented, traditional and hypothetical portraits
Not all identifications carry the same weight, and it is important to distinguish them:
- Raphael and Michelangelo as Heraclitus are indicated by the Vatican Museums.
- Bramante as Euclid goes back to Vasari and is a widespread traditional identification.
- Leonardo as Plato is an old and widely accepted critical tradition, but it is not documented by sources of the time.
- The young man beside Raphael has been identified as Sodoma, Perugino or other painters: the question remains open.
The case of Heraclitus
The figure of Heraclitus does not appear in the large preparatory cartoon kept in the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana in Milan. It is therefore thought to have been added later, perhaps after Raphael had seen the first part of the Sistine ceiling, unveiled in 1511. The homage to Michelangelo would thus also be an acknowledgement of his rival. On the blog you will find a podcast episode on the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana in Milan, where the cartoon is on display.
4. The meaning: the dignity of knowledge and of the artist
More than a gallery of portraits, the School of Athens is a statement of intent: ancient philosophy is welcomed into the heart of the papal residence as part of a single search for truth. And by placing the painters and architects of his time among the sages, Raphael claims that the visual arts are not a manual craft but a form of knowledge, on a par with geometry and philosophy. His self-portrait, looking straight at the viewer, is the signature of this claim.
5. The School of Athens and the Disputation: two walls in dialogue
To truly understand the School of Athens, turn towards the opposite wall, where the Disputation of the Holy Sacrament is painted. The two scenes are built like a diptych. In the Disputation the centre is the consecrated host on the altar, beneath the Trinity and the heavenly court; in the School of Athens the centre is occupied by Plato and Aristotle, beneath the open sky. On one side revealed truth, on the other truth sought through reason.
Space, too, is conceived in complementary ways. The Disputation takes place outdoors, on a great semicircle of clouds and figures; the School of Athens inside monumental architecture. Anyone in Julius II’s library could thus pass with their eyes from theology to philosophy, as if following a course of study.
Tips for your visit
The Room of the Segnatura is part of the standard route through the Vatican Museums, which then leads to the Sistine Chapel. Since the room is often very crowded, it is worth looking at the School of Athens from a distance first, to grasp the perspective, and then moving closer to the side groups, where the portraits are hidden. Before visiting Rome, the cartoon at the Ambrosiana in Milan lets you see Raphael’s drawing at the actual size of the fresco.
6. Italian language workshop (B2-C1)
Glossary
- Affresco (fresco): painting on fresh plaster, with pigments mixed in water.
- Cartone (cartoon): a full-scale preparatory drawing used to transfer the composition to the wall.
- Volta a botte (barrel vault): a half-cylinder roof.
- Cassettonato (coffered): a ceiling decorated with recessed panels.
- Allegoria (allegory): a figure representing an abstract concept.
Grammar: the subjunctive of opinion and hypothesis
When we present an interpretation rather than a certain fact, Italian requires the subjunctive (congiuntivo) after verbs and expressions of opinion, doubt and probability. English has no direct equivalent, so learners need to recognise the trigger expressions.
- Ritengo / Credo / Penso che + present subjunctive: Ritengo che il volto di Platone sia un omaggio a Leonardo.
- È probabile / È possibile che + past subjunctive: È probabile che Raffaello abbia aggiunto Eraclito dopo aver visto la Sistina.
- Sembra / Pare che: Sembra che l’architettura si ispiri al progetto di Bramante.
- Si ipotizza / Si suppone che: Si ipotizza che il giovane accanto a Raffaello sia il Sodoma.
By contrast, for a certain fact we use the indicative: È certo che la figura di Eraclito manca nel cartone.
Exercise
Choose between indicative and subjunctive.
- È noto che Platone (tiene / tenga) il Timeo.
- Alcuni pensano che il compagno di Raffaello (è / sia) il Perugino.
- So che il cartone (si trova / si trovi) a Milano.
- È possibile che Raffaello (ha voluto / abbia voluto) rendere omaggio a Michelangelo.
Answers: 1. tiene; 2. sia; 3. si trova; 4. abbia voluto.
Writing task
Write a short argumentative text in Italian (150-200 words) on this question: è giusto che un artista si ritragga accanto ai grandi del passato? Use at least five expressions with the subjunctive.
Facts and hypotheses
The School of Athens is a painted encyclopaedia of ancient learning and a mirror of Julius II’s Rome. To read it well you have to separate facts from hypotheses, and in Italian that distinction runs straight through the subjunctive. If you would like to practise it with me, book a one-to-one online lesson at my-italian-teacher.ch. The courses are in preparation: the waiting list is open. The A1 grammar course is already free on the blog.
Recommended reading and resources
- Roger Jones, Nicholas Penny, Raphael, Yale University Press. View on Amazon
- Giorgio Vasari, Lives of the Artists (Life of Raphael), annotated edition. View on Amazon
- Plato, Timaeus, in a good annotated translation. View on Amazon
As an Amazon Associate, this site earns from qualifying purchases. The price for buyers does not change.
Sources
- Vatican Museums, School of Athens (figures, Bramante-inspired architecture, self-portrait)
- Vatican Museums, Room of the Segnatura (function, dates, iconographic programme)
- Italy Heritage, Raphael: the School of Athens (statues of Apollo and Minerva, Ambrosiana cartoon without Heraclitus)
- Giorgio Vasari, Life of Raphael, text online
