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Description
Listed as one of the most important paintings by the artist Rafael Sanzio, 'The School of Athens' is perhaps the painter's most ambitious work. In it he wanted to represent the origins of Western thought in Ancient Greece, in a scene that brings together the great philosophers and classical thinkers. Raphael Sanzio was an Italian Renaissance architect and painter who was commissioned by Pope Julius II to produce several frescoes to decorate the rooms of the Apostolic Palace - now known as Raphael's rooms - in the Vatican.

The first room to be decorated was the Stanza della Segnatura, a room that contains four large frescoes representing the four branches of human knowledge: La Disputa del Sacramento (represents theology); The Parnassus (represents poetry); Jurisprudence (represents the cardinal and theological virtues and the law); and finally, The School of Athens (representing philosophy).

Rafael did not put names inside the painting. Scholars suggest that every one of the great Greek philosophers can be found in the fresco; however, determining the identity of some thinkers has turned out to be a difficult task.

All of Rafael's creations were the result of detailed planning, and this was no exception; In this sense, due to the harmony, the brightness of the colors, the luminosity of the environment and the variety of poses and expressions represented, The School of Athens is considered his masterpiece.

Description
Listed as one of the most important paintings by the artist Rafael Sanzio, 'The School of Athens' is perhaps the painter's most ambitious work. In it he wanted to represent the origins of Western thought in Ancient Greece, in a scene that brings together the great philosophers and classical thinkers. Raphael Sanzio was an Italian Renaissance architect and painter who was commissioned by Pope Julius II to produce several frescoes to decorate the rooms of the Apostolic Palace - now known as Raphael's rooms - in the Vatican.

The first room to be decorated was the Stanza della Segnatura, a room that contains four large frescoes representing the four branches of human knowledge: La Disputa del Sacramento (represents theology); The Parnassus (represents poetry); Jurisprudence (represents the cardinal and theological virtues and the law); and finally, The School of Athens (representing philosophy).

Rafael did not put names inside the painting. Scholars suggest that every one of the great Greek philosophers can be found in the fresco; however, determining the identity of some thinkers has turned out to be a difficult task.

All of Rafael's creations were the result of detailed planning, and this was no exception; In this sense, due to the harmony, the brightness of the colors, the luminosity of the environment and the variety of poses and expressions represented, The School of Athens is considered his masterpiece.