225 Blog 7

Looking at his life, I feel that Raphael was one of the most interesting artists of all time. In his short life, he created some of the most famous paintings of all time (most based on religious subjects), while also living a life that would probably not be accepted openly by the church. It is said that Raphael’s death was caused by a fever that was the result of a night of intense sexual relations with one of his mistresses. Because he would not tell his doctor the reason for his fever, he was given the wrong cure, which killed him. At least, this is what some people believe.
During our tour of the Vatican Museums, our group had the privilege to see the “Raphael Rooms.” The decoration of these rooms was commissioned to Raphael by Pope Julius II, the same Pope who commissioned Michelangelo to decorate the Sistine Chapel. These rooms are considered by many to be the greatest works of Raphael’s illustrious career. One of the main works in these rooms is the widely-known “School of Athens.”
This work depicts many of the great Greek philosophers. Some say that every great Greek philosopher is depicted in this fresco, but it is impossible to prove this, seeing that Raphael made no intense effort to document who was who in this painting. However, certain figures are clearly identifiable. The central figure positioned more to the right with blue cloak, brown hair, and his hand extended in front of him is Aristotle. The figure to the left of Aristotle, with pink-orange cloak, long gray hair, and finger pointing upward is Plato. The reason that Plato points upward while Aristotle holds his hand flat is that Plato was a more optimistic philosopher. Aristotle was Plato’s pupil, and he felt that Plato’s ideas were too optimistic. Aristotle believed that truth could only be found through empirical evidence, while Plato felt that perception was not always consistent with truth. It is also interesting to know that the figure representing Plato also represents Leonardo da Vinci. Raphael considered Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci to be his role models.
The figure below the two central figures and to the right, wearing a blue toga, lying on the stairs, and holding a document is believed to be Diogenes. However, some argue that this is actually Socrates, so we see that this painting has caused some historical debates. Below the two central and slightly to the left is Michelangelo. He is shown in purple clothing and he is writing something. It is said that Raphael finished his “School of Athens” painting before viewing the Sistine Chapel that Michelangelo was working on at that time. When he saw the Sistine Chapel, he was amazed at its splendor. He rushed back to the rooms he was working on and chipped away a part of this fresco where the stairs were empty. He then added the figure of Michelangelo, permanently honoring him for his artistic skill.
There is one more important figure in this painting that I would like to point out, and that is Raphael himself. He is located on the right side of the painting. He is not visible in the picture I have posted with this blog. However, the picture below this blog (shown as a seperate post) shows Raphael’s self-portrait that he added to the fresco. Raphael is the figure on the right, whose face is looking directly at the viewer. As you can see, he looks very young. All of his portraits would depict him as a young man, because he only lived to be 37 years old.
Raphael was a very interesting man, as well as a talented artist. The “School of Athens” portrays both of these aspects of Raphael’s life. It is one of his most famous paintings, and for good reason.