Analysis of The School of Athens by Raphael

The school of Athens is a famous painting by Renaissance sculptor and painter Raphael. It includes many of the Renaissance’s new styles of art, including depth, perspective and new dyes and inks that added beautiful new colors and shades. The painting is also an embodiment of the Renaissance itself. The painting illustrates over 45 of the great minds in various fields including theology, poetry, justice and science. It includes many well-known names in science and philosophy, such as Socrates, Plato and even Aristotle. Front and foremost at the center of the painting we see Plato and his pupil Aristotle. The two seem to be in some kind of verbal discussion, Plato is pointing to the sky suggesting cosmological influence, while his student Aristotle is pointing to the ground suggesting that ethics and sciences should be practical. The painting has also been considered a tribute to the great minds of ancient times. Not only philosophical figures are presented however, Raphael also includes a few great minds of science, including Pythagoras and Euclid, who are both pioneers in the realm of mathematics. Besides the great minds represented in the painting, the painting itself in one of new discoveries. Raphael also uses many new methods that were only brought about during the Italian Renaissance, many of which up until that point were previously undiscovered.