One the right is a statue of Athena, god of wisdom, light, and the city. On the left is Apollo, sun god, holding a lyre. Arching over the top of the painting is a great, wide semi-circle in a space resembling a basilica annex. Philosophy in the Middle Ages was obsessed with the analytical procedures of Aristotle, whose treatises on many subjects generally worked inductively, determining truth from other truths. A feature of the high Renaissance was the shift towards Platonic thought, but also a continued influence by papal authority. In The School of Athens, Raphael has drawn a portrait of classical philosophy but sanctified it by putting theists and atheists alike in a religious setting.

Thematically, The School of Athens presents Renaissance Humanism, linking the Athenian scene of people together in a fluid, personal picture. The personalities of each philosopher mix in a jumble of activity and motion. Whereas classical Greek philosophy...

Pre- and early Renaissance art in Western Europe did not focus on the divinity of man, but in a period of immense cultural growth, the supremacy of mankind over nature and death characterized expression. For Raphael, the staging of an Athenian intellectual scene in a contemporary church connoted respect for the past and the immortality of the human spirit.
Donatello and Raphael are just two of the dozens of the Renaissance masters. I especially like Donatello's second David since the defiant face is not just a depiction of a story, but a statement about the changes in art underway in Donatello's time. The human figure is not longer a burden for spiritual growth, but a pivotal part of religion. Raphael's School of Athens is an excellent integration of form and idea, and is a reminder of the complex world of the Renaissance, combining the classical with the contemporary.