Raphael's Painting The School Of Athens

Many beautiful sculptures and paintings were created during the cultural and intellectual movement that led to the rediscovery of learning and culture known as the Renaissance. They all uniquely contribute to the spread and success of this time period. However only one of these incredible creations can be considered the best Renaissance creation, and the School of Athens fits perfectly under this label, with its beautiful technique, its detail to the people illustrates and attributes that are beyond compare, the School of Athens is truly the greatest Renaissance creation.

In Raphael's Painting the School of Athens, he illustrates all the appreciable mathematicians, philosophers and scientists from the classical era all congregated together
He showcases Plato and Aristotle in the center of the piece, two people who contributed heavily to Western Thinking. Plato, who is featured on the left and is pointing up to put emphasis on his philosophy which states that "the changing world that we see around us is just a shadow of a higher, truer reality that is eternal and unchanging" (Khan Academy). Plato holds his book called the Timaeus with him. Standing beside him on the right is Aristotle, who holds his hand down, because in his philosophy, the only reality is the one that we can see and experience by sight and touch which is exactly the opposite of what Plato believed, the book Aristotle holds in his hand is his book Ethics. Apart from that, Raphael also illustrated some of the greatest Mathematicians and scientists in his piece such as Pythagoras and Ptolemy, Pythagoras was shown on the lower left writing in a book most likely about his theories, the Mathematician believed that the world operated according to the law of mathematics and created many theorems that help better shape our understanding of math today. Not only did Raphael showcase many of the influential teachers of the time, he also drew in the students, such as himself learning from them. The painting shows all the greatest figures from
However, no matter how breathtaking the Mona Lisa may be, there are many reasons why the School of Athens qualifies as the greatest creation of the Renaissance. The Mona Lisa was an unfinished piece, with its missing eyebrows and mysterious smile, there were clear signs that the artist did not get to fully finish the piece. After the “completion” of this piece it was hung up in a museum, however did not receive much recognition until it was stolen by a worker there. Before it was announced that the piece had gone missing it was not a very well known piece. On the other hand, the famous School of Athens was a completed piece who gained recognition through its excellence and broad levels of perspective, excellent detail on its people and figures, and its exceptional balance throughout the piece. Though the Mona Lisa was an excellent piece for its time the School of Athens trumps its with its balance, perspective, attention to detail, and its ability to gain recognition through the greatness portrayed through its