Raphael's The School of Athens vs. Saint Peter's Cathedral
...nded by many other scholars, all who seem to be debating theories, and exchanging wisdom with each other. Those that have been positively identified, along with Plato and Aristotle are: Socrates, Pythagoras, Eucld, Alcibiades, Diogenes, Ptolemy, Zoroaster and Raphael. (Vatican Museum) Unlike the other scholars, Raphael depicts a self portrait of himself in the lower right hand of the painting, showing the viewers his contribution to philosophy from this fresco. An important aspect of Raphael’s painting is that with all these characters in one space, one can see that the figures do not take over the painting, nor are they suppressed by it. (Kren) Rather, Raphael has manipulated the space to fit his own needs to represent these characters. He does this in the way of expanding the width of the space, and adding depth by the three receding arches seen in the background, amid the enormous barrel-vaulted interior. This, along with addition of the steps to allow overlapping of the figures to show diminution, allowed Raphael to convey his message of philosophy while still placing the image within a religious space. An important focus of this comparison is the issue of Raphael’s use of church and religion in a painting representing philosophy. Not only does he seem to include the setting of Saint Peter’s Church in his fresco, but he also illustrated Plato gesturing upward to the heavens, representing that God was the creator of all, including philosophy. With this act of including the church in his painting, Raphael succeeds in conveying his view that even though the Christian religion really had nothing to do with Greeks philosophy, it still could not be discounted completely. This painting is said to celebrate classical thought, which we can see not only through the characters, but also through the architecture (Kren). Standing in the alcoves of either side of the arch are the classical gods of Apollo and Minerva. Along with these statues, one can see the garments of the philosophers are attributing to classical times as well. In the fresco, classical framework is seen, having the most noticeable being the ceiling, clearly inspired by late Roman architecture. This Roman architecture can be seen in the coffered vaults, the pilasters holding the classical deities, receding arches and vaults, and the use of rational ordered space. The original St. Peters church was built in the fourth century CE by Constantine to mark the grave of the apostle Peter. In 1506, Pope Julius II demolished the church, which was left in poor condition, and replaced it with a new building. Julius II selected Donato Bramante to design and build the new church. (Stokstad) Bramante’s design for the new St. Peter’s cathedral was to have it a centrally planned building. After it was built, many revisions of Saint Peter’s church took place over the centuries. This continued until Pope Paul V in 1606 commissioned the architect Carlo Maderno to change the church back to the old Saint Peters by lengthening the nave. (Stokstad) In the modern version of the church, we can see Maderno’s architecture, plus his successor, Gianlorenzo Bernini’s contribution of an enormous bronze baldachin, or canopy, over the high altar of Saint Peter’s. This baldachin, or baldacchino, was essential to a church of St. Peter’s size, as it dramatically focuses attention on the most important part of the church, the altar. The canopy in St. Peter’s stands almost 100 feet tall, displaying not only the wealth of St. Peter, but the importance as well. The “twisted columns symbolize the union of Old and New Testaments” and the “Composite capitals, combining both Ionic and Corinthian orders, support an entablature with a crowning element topped with an orb (a sphere representing the universe) and a cross (symbolizing the reign of Christ).” (Stokstad) Beyond the baldacchino, a second focal point is established by columns and a richly decorated Roman vaulted coffered ceiling. Above the great arch are the words “You are Peter and it is here where I will build my church.” (Vatican Museum) Looking through the great baldacchino, ...