My Kid Could Paint That

Raphael, The School of Athens, 1511

Aristotle, a renowned Greek philosopher, accomplished a multitude of feats throughout his life. His genius for intellectual and creative discovery remains a pristine example of innovation. To that end, it’s no surprise that Raphael features Aristotle and Plato in the center of The School of Athens. The painting's flow streams outwards from the two, as they are surrounded by many great scholars and artists. Juxtaposed, they walk and indicate their philosophical stance by their hand gestures. Plato’s philosophy centered around the concept that the true reality is an outlier, and what we can perceive within our unstable world is merely an abstraction of the truth. Plato’s raised hand demonstrates his belief that his ideal, stable reality exists above. In contrast, Aristotle’s reality simply exists in what we can sense. His outstretched hand moves in a downward motion, emphasizing the idea that reality exists in human experience and life. The contrasting colors of their robes, red and blue, also mark their differences.

Thus, Aristotle shares the spotlight with Plato as one of the greatest Greek philosophers in Raphael's The School of Ahtens.

Structure and Paintings
Analyzing Architecture and Perspective within Paintings
Curated by Max Cantu-Lima

Raphael, School of Athens, 1509-1511

By now we've fully covered the concept of space and perspective. But what Raphael does within School of Athens is quite different, which propelled it to its popularity. Raphael does not solely focus on the architecture, but depicts philosophers and authors of the time. Center stage we find Plato and Aristotle discussing the difference between idealistic world-views and the greater concern with the real world. The scene itself has become iconic, brought up commonly within philosophy classes and even making its way into pop culture as the inspiration for alternative band Alt-J's music video for Tessellate. And while the subjects are done well and cleverly, the architecture behind these great minds stands tall, towering over them. For in the end, the building will last longer, outliving all of them. Its beauty remaining for future generations to see.

Raphael widens the space he was restricted to working in, making the work seem larger than its true size. He not only increases the size, but also extends it further back creating even greater depth. One indication as to the talent and genius of Raphael, are the gaps Raphael places between the barrel arches. He's creating a more complex image by doing so, separating the perspective, almost vertical, lines with horizontal ones. He does this in sets of three. This not only creates more space, but more appealing space, while also allowing the sky to peek through. It's successful because of the way he utilizes color and shadow, capturing how light plays off the walls and columns.

This painting made its way into this collection, like other paintings, for its attention to detail. Raphael became a classical master because of this painting. With this statement, I am not saying his other work lacks talent but rather this painting has so much of it in one space it has become his most remembered. Both symbolic and executed well, Raphael's complexity creates a work that the viewer could analyze for hours.