The School Of Athens Raphael Analysis

Improved Essays
Raphael Analysis In 1509, 27 year old Raphael Sanzio created what has been regarded as one of the most beautiful Renaissance paintings of all time. This art work is titled Philosophy (School of Athens). During the years of 1509 and 1511, Raphael painted The School of Athens. The general theme of this artwork is said to be a visualization of knowledge. The majority of persons depicted in the painting are unknown. However, it has been suggested that The School of Athens depicts Greek philosophers and ancient scientists. In his painting, Raphael used implied lines. “An implied line can be a discontinuous line that the viewer reads as continuous because of the overall context of the image” (Fichner-Rathus 30). The viewer’s eyes sweep across the painting continuously from left to right. This is in part due to the lines which appear to go away from the viewer and meet in the center. The archway of the painting creates structure. “One of the hallmarks of Renaissance paintings is the use of implied line to create or echo the structure of the composition” (Fichner-Rathus 31). The use of line in this artwork forms various shapes. “Shapes are formed when interesting or connected lines enclose space” (Fichner-Rathus 35). In …show more content…
The people in this painting exist and move not just through space, but also time. “In its inexorable forward flow, time provides us with the chance to develop and grasp the visions of our dreams. Time also creates the stark limits beyond which none of us may extend” (Fichner-Rathus 65). Raphael brilliantly represented three-dimensional space to imply movement and time. The School of Athens captures motion through what is called stopped time. His use of diagonal lines simulate the movement of each person in the artwork. The passage of time is implied through the people being caught in the midst of their movement across the floor, up the stairs, and changing body

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Mary Cassatt Analysis

    • 600 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Mary Cassatt was a renowned American painter who created a famous painting known as “The Letter”. At first glance, it portrayed an older women sitting at a desk simply mailing out a letter. After analyzing the painting for some time, I uncovered more then what was seen at first glance. The painting is very unique and was difficult to interpret in the beginning. When I visually analyzed the painting, I saw an older Japanese woman wearing traditional Japanese attire while sitting at what looks like a desk inside of a room.…

    • 600 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Dorothea Rockburne’s deep interest of mathematics influenced her artwork (30). Dorothea Rockburne’s work, Pascal’s Provincial Letters, was focused on the inherent relationship between the rectilinear shapes of multiple colors shown against a backdrop of deep, dark undertones of blue. Contemporary artists, like Rockburne, take in consideration of current ideas and force the audience to rethink the familiar. In this piece, Dorothea Rockburne uses a contemporary color scheme, lines, and shapes in Pascal’s Provincial Letters, in order to demonstrate the theme of contemporary art which mirrors contemporary culture and society. Dorothea Rockburne uses multiple different colors throughout her painting.…

    • 434 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Nightlife Analysis

    • 719 Words
    • 3 Pages

    People are leaning back and forth, dancing, and moving round. These implied diagonal lines give the painting movement. Without the use of diagonal lines the painting would be more stable, which would make the mood less lively and more laidback. The geometric shapes used throughout Nightlife emphasize “a keen understanding of social interactions between men and women, which he particularly expressed through gestures and glances” (Art…

    • 719 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Renoir’s distinctive style manifests itself in The Seine at Chatou. He does not use outlines in this painting; instead, the composition is made up of many abstracted lines in the form of brush strokes. These brushstroke lines distinguish between the piece’s components. The lines’ qualities of color and width describe the landscape’s textures and distinguish its subjects. The inherent nature of…

    • 1225 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Great Essays

    Scientific Revolution Dbq

    • 1361 Words
    • 6 Pages

    A reason this drawing might have been drawn would be to show the new way of thinking: science. Throughout the entire illustration, there are no religious sentiments found at all, which is a smack in the face of the Catholic Church. The innovative way of thinking during this time is a critical political and social factor that affected the work of scientists because it started the separation from the Catholic…

    • 1361 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    From the Early Renaissance to the culmination of the High Renaissance art goes through a great evolution in techniques and in perception. Light and shadow are more often exemplified within the artworks of this era and it also truly did bring about a realistic depiction of life within art. Along with that there is the great advances in perception due to the popular use of linear perspective, which gave a genuine depth and space to artworks of this time. Due to the great gains and expansions of ideas within art techniques during this time, artist for generations owe a great deal to the many “masters” throughout the Renaissance…

    • 1011 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Cassatt uses some reds and creams to lighten up the background of the picture. You can see the interpreted lines and definitive lines in the painting. The binoculars let viewers see the interpreted lines. Cassatt uses lines to make the shape of the balcony and the people. You can see the value in the painting with some very dark spots and some…

    • 1435 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Unicorn Is Found, is a miraculous tapestry that hangs in The Metropolitan Museum Of Art in New York. (Stokstad and Cothren). Unfortunately, the place of origin and the artist for this piece is unknown. It is composed of wool, silk, and metal threads, forming this 12-foot by 12-foot textile. This tapestry incorporates many human figures surrounding a simple fountain.…

    • 1014 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Green Bridge II The Green Bridge II, by Lyonel Feininger, in 1916. It is an asymmetrical abstract piece made from oil paint on a canvas. Within the painting, there are three-dimensional objects, which would appear to tell a story. What appears a very busy street loitered with many people, walking to or from somewhere. The appearance of the buildings, surroundings, and the people are not normal, they have a really blocky or distorted appearance.…

    • 2161 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Every day, from the moment we wake up to the time we go to sleep, our eyes are loaded with images we come across by; different people, an abandoned car by the side of the road, construction sites, and much more. As we go through our days we often get caught up in our busy schedules and miss out on the beauty of everyday sights that we have all too much have come accustomed to. Sometimes it takes artists to help us remember that there is beauty in the simple things and one such artist is Michael Stasinos. Michael Stasinos work captures the beauty of a variety of landscapes and people. Stasinos’ Wintonia Hotel, which he painted in 2003, is a piece that captures the resemblance of the hotel to those who view it through different elements and principles.…

    • 655 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Caillebotte’s use of structured line is intended to represent a realistic image, in many of his works, he preferred to represent life as it was and not what it should be (Biography, 2016). His use of contour lines once again provides accurate depth. He also uses line to divide the painting into its important subjects, (the couple on the right of the pole) and everyone else. Other uses of lines include the vertical lines of the umbrellas that provide balance with other horizontal lines. The horizontal lines of the sidewalks for example give stability to the center of the painting.…

    • 1265 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Drawing focuses on a 2-dimensional surface. The sculptors drew 2-dimensional versions of their sculptures as a plan to create the work, as clarification of their work. They have drawn to the three aspects to “Seeing”: visual perception - the ability of the brain to accurately judge the shapes, relationships and proportions evident in the data that our eyes take in, visualising - our ability to recognise and organise the ‘drawing potential” of a subject, visual literacy -the ability to read and interpret the marks of the drawing itself. Giacometti’s perceptual drawing is almost an exact depiction of his sculpture, utilising line to create tone, thus transforming the image from 2-dimensional to 3-dimensional. Giacometti’s and Goldsworthy’s sculptures are very distinctive, but their drawings are very similar.…

    • 852 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Critical Analysis on The Night Cafe by Vincent Van Gogh In 1888, Vincent Van Gogh painted a painting called The Night Cafe. He used oil on canvas as his medium and used a 72,4 cm by 92.1 cm canvas. The subject matter of the piece is a narrative, and the setting takes place indoors. To be more specifically it’s in a cafe which contains many still lives such as clocks, tables, chairs, glasses, and much more.…

    • 810 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Leonardo da Vinci and Raphael both formed the iconic dyad of the epitome of Renaissance art. In Leonardo da Vinci’s Madonna of the Rocks as well as Raphael’s rendition of da Vinci’s painting Madonna in the Meadow, a religious scene is depicted with Madonna gazes towards an exchange between Saint John and Jesus Christ in infantry as she realizes the grave future that Christ faces. While both paintings feature the same biblical figures in similar fashion, Raphael’s rendering takes on a brighter and lighter tonality and clearer disposition unlike Da Vinci’s more sullen, hazy, and darker painting. Nonetheless, both paintings portray an air of spirituality.…

    • 1276 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Since the Renaissance period, many things have changed, from the way we act and the way we dress, but one thing that has not changed is our appreciation for art. Art, then and now, captures the worries and problems that are going on in the World around us. Michelangelo’s “The Last Judgement” (1536-1541), has many scenes within the painting that show the people’s facial expressions, mostly of worry, for whether or not they will be sent to Heaven or Hell. Michelangelo (1475-1564) just may as well be one of the greatest Italian artists of the Renaissance period, creating some of the most creative and inspiring artwork during his lifetime. Looking at all of his paintings and sculptures, one can definitely tell that his artwork is very detailed…

    • 902 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays