The School of Athens: A Masterpiece by Raphael Sanzio da Urbino

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Between 1509 and 1510, Raphael Sanzio da Urbino constructed a fresco masterpiece designed for the Vatican entitled The School of Athens. The painting itself represents different branches of knowledge such as philosophy, theology, and also literature. Most people consider The School of Athens a masterpiece by Raphael and the epitome of High Renaissance.

My thesis statement for this paper is to ask and figure out why Raphael painted such a beautiful object and I also am going to research why Michelangelo and Raphael were such rivals during a period of time where I believe the Renaissance reach its peaked in art, music, and society as a whole.

The background of The School of Athens falls into the center of the painting itself. It echoes signs of perspective, composition and skilled drawing. Immediately what jumps out at the viewer or spectator is the focus on Plato and Aristotle which caught my eye immediately. I recognized Aristotle right away because I am a huge fan of his theories and knowledge as I took a philosophy class about three or four years ago at a community colleg...

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