THE SCHOOL OF ATHENS: Stanza della Segnatura [Signature Room]
Raphael's intention here is to show the paths of Knowledge.
In the center of the composition are two characters.
One, Plato, raising his finger to the sky,
holding one of his last dialogues, The Timaeus, in his hand. The other,
Aristotle, lowering his hand to the earth, holding Ethics in his hand.
They represent two paths, two approaches: Plato, going from reality to the Ideal, from earth to the philosophical ideal, and the other, Aristotle, showing the philosophical ideal which can only exist in his illustration of this world.
Transcendency and immanence are represented through these two characters.
Around them, Raphael has gathered the great thinkers of all times. Especially those from Antiquity, giving them the faces of some of his contemporaries.
Without going into detail, let us look at some of the important characters.
Heraclitus.
Diogenes, disregarding everything and disregarded by all.
Socrates, perfectly recognizable by his satyr's face, surrounded by Alexander the Great,
Alcibiadies and other disciples
Euclid, with Bramante's face, giving a mathematical demonstration along with Zoroaster,
who mastered the knowledge of the sky, and Ptolemy, who mastered the knowledge of the earth.
On the left, Averroes, recognizable by his white turban, who introduced our
world to Eastern knowledge.
In the foreground, Pythagoras and Anaxagoras of Miletus, then a florid
Epicurus, crowned with vines.
Each one of them represents an encyclopedia of knowledge,
in which Raphael has not forgotten himself. He is at the far right, dressed in black, accompanied by a young man dressed in white, Sodoma, the painter. Raphael pays homage to Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci by giving their features to Heraclitus and Plato.
The most brilliant part is the architecture at the top of the work, which is completely due to Bramante. These are exactly the same coffers as the ones which Bramante was raising in the new Saint Peter's Basilica, which was then taking form.
It must have been phenomenal to have Michelangelo, painting the Sistine Chapel, Bramante, raising domes and colonnades and Leonardo da Vinci, prowling the corridors and looking for work, as one's close neighbors. Julius II was a very lucky man
