The School of Athens
Raphael · 1511
Why it's great
Raphael filled a Vatican room with the great thinkers of ancient Greece: Plato points up at the sky of ideas while Aristotle holds out a hand toward the Earth. Painted around 1511 at the height of the Italian Renaissance, it says that the new age was a rebirth of the clear thinking of ancient Athens.
🏛️ Part of history
Classical Greece: From Marathon to Socrates (490–399 BC) — Raphael filled a Vatican room with the great thinkers of ancient Greece: Plato points up at the sky of ideas while Aristotle holds out a hand toward the Earth.
The Renaissance (1400–1600) — Raphael filled a Vatican room with the great thinkers of ancient Greece: Plato points up at the sky of ideas while Aristotle holds out a hand toward the Earth.
Where to see it
📍 Location not recordedWe couldn't confirm where it hangs today. Museums sometimes move or lend paintings, so check the museum's website before you travel.
Hang it on your wall
Three places to look for a print of this painting, from budget to museum-grade:
These links open search results on each shop's own website; we don't sell anything or earn a commission, and print quality varies by seller. Ask a grown-up before you buy anything.
Raphael was an Italian painter born in Urbino in 1483. He worked in Florence and then in Rome, where he painted the Vatican's famous rooms, and with Leonardo and Michelangelo he is counted among the three giants of the High Renaissance. He died in Rome in 1520 at the age of only 37.
