Raphels school of athens. this is an essay describing the painting

Essay by rageradiosHigh School, 10th gradeA+, September 2004

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In 1508, Pope Julius II asked Raphael to paint some private apartments in the Vatican. One of these paints is the well-known fresco "School of Athens". It is about as big as the wall it is on. In the painting are many people from Greece and the Renaissance time period. In the middle of the painting are two of the great Greek philosophers, Plato and Aristotle. In the hands of each is one of their writings. In Plato's hand lies one of his dialogues, the Timaeus, it is about the origin of the universe. In Aristotle's hand lies, Ethics, his book about how to live a good life and what information is needed to live a good life. This may also be the reason why in the painting Plato's other hand points up, while Aristotle's hand points down. Plato thinks of philosophy and greater knowledge as the way of life, whereas Aristotle believes more in living life through the use of human emotions.

Raphael also included himself in the painting. The significance to the time period is an obvious one, it shows how much of a impact Greek culture, as shown by two Greek gods being in the painting, and Greek philosophy, as shown by the number of Greek philosophers in the painting, had on the Renaissance.