Stanza della Segnatura: The School of Athens (fragment) Raphael (1483-1520)

Two powerful figures – two of the greatest minds in human history, two titans of philosophy, just as Raphael was a titan in painting, and his contemporaries Leonardo and Michelangelo – who is superior to whom, what represents what? Plato or Aristotle, the ideal, heavenly realm versus the material, earthly one? This age-old question has shaped many historical events in the development of Homo Sapiens... Raphael placed these two figures at the very center of his immortal masterpiece, the finest fresco in the Stanza della Segnatura: The School of Athens. Despite the difference in their ages, wisdom is evident and radiates from the faces of both. And both are brimming with spiritual energy, each opposite to the energy of their interlocutor, yet drawn together in a single debate, conversation, just as two oppositely charged particles simultaneously repel and attract in interaction. The harmony of opposites, the dialectic of existence created by the Lord God, that is, Nature. Raphaels mastery of conveying this theme, his depiction of forms and space through the visual means of the fresco, demonstrates impeccable skill. As a viewer, I cannot help but marvel at the virtuosity with which he commands all these elements and portrays the boundless depth of visual and semantic connections, contrasts, and nuances, even in this single pair, let alone the entire composition. The contrasts in the shapes of the heads, the positions of the hands, and the clothing are softened by subtle details and near-repetitions in the postures of the bodies and other hands, each holding books that are parallel to the hand of the other figure, creating a sense of unity and connecting the gesture with the theoretical content of the printed material held by the philosopher. The airy lightness of it all, the depth and dynamism of the forms, and the virtuosity of depicting light and shadow are simply astonishing when one considers the period in which this was created. More precisely, the state of society at that still turbulent time under the reign of the Inquisition and medieval norms and rules. It was an unpredictable, sweeping explosion of the Renaissance era that shattered all previous foundations and canons, unstoppable by any means. The most brilliant expression of this renaissance within the constellation of artists and painters was Raphael Santi, who burned out from this intensity at just 36 years old, yet achieved an unattainable height in his immortal creations and, together with his contemporaries, geniuses of painting, brought about a revolution not only in this form of art but also in the development of humanity as a whole.