Introduction
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| Pope Julius II, portrayed by Raphael, 1511-1512 |
From Chapter 13 of Cunningham's Culture and Values, we learned about "The School of Athen" by the famous artist Raphael, this great work was painted between 1509-1511, commissioned by the Pope himself at the time. So for my perspective about the High Renaissance, I have chose to focus on The School of Athens due to its broad view and embodiments. The article for this artwork I chose is "Intellectual Giants: A Classical Topos and 'The School of Athens'."It basically explained the relations this artwork has, as well as its spirit that Raphael wanted to represent within this painting but also in the same direction of his patron, Pope Julius wished to be.
This one greatness about the painting explained by the article, "Raphael has denied the very possibility of closure, suggesting to the viewer that he himself is heir to a grand tradition. He, too, might participate in the assembly of Great Men, should he be worthy. Thus, the potential of the present—anhistorical and historical at the same moment—implies that the cultural heights of papal Rome match those of antiquity."(Intellectual Giants, pg.2) As we saw in the painting, Raphael did put himself into the painting, fulfilling such spirit. By this action, he furthur expand and support the main idea of this painting, the endorse of Catholic Rome on the Classical thoughts and its fellow greatest thinkers.
Article vs. Chapter 13
The point I have noticed in the article that Chapter 13 might not have is the heavily touch on the content in The School of Athens. As we saw, the painting contained a hall of famous thinkers and contributers, but Chapter 13 didn't mentioned much about what is the very purpose of this move. The article explained, "Raphael's assembly of Great Men in the School of Athens, with its tradtional and hortatory qualities, represents a 'meeting of the minds' in its complete realization."(Intellectual Giants, pg.7) Confirming this theme, we could spot that on the both sides accompanying these great people are the statues of Apollo and Athena, or Minerva in Roman mythology. "The artist has provided a furthur clue to his harmoizing intention in the prominence given to the two large 'statues' of classical gods at the left and right, easily recognized as Apollo and Minerva."(Intellectual Giants, pg.7-8) This might have been something that Chapter 13 did not touched upon while it was introducing the painting.
Reversing this, we saw that Chapter 13 also explained something that's exclusive to the article, and that would be the inspirations that Raphael had while creating this painting "The School of Athens sets the great philosophers of antiquity in an immense illusionistic architectural framework that must have been at least partially inspired by the impressive ruins of Roman baths and basilicas, and perhaps by the new Saint Peter's, then under construction. Raphael's fresco depicts Roman barrel vaulting, coffered ceilings, and broad expanses not unlike the still existing baths of ancient Rome."(Cunningham 298) Noticing this interpretation for The School of Athens. I can understand that article focusing on the background, history, and representation about this painting, is unlike the content in Chapter 13's which it explained about constructional inspirations inside The School of Athens. However, both texts can offered a great amount of information about this painting and the meanings it brought to the High Renaissance, which also including how the papal Rome view the Classical world.
The School of Athens, Raphael | Art Analysis (Video Essay) - Youtube - By The Cogito
Why I Selected This Article
The reason I selected this article is because I want to understand how the fellow artists and people in the Renaissance Period view the Classical world, especially when it comes to the theme of religion, which is the theme I'm interested in, the role of religion. This is also explained by both the article and Chapter 13. "Although Julius II does not appear in the School of Athens, his presence and patronage of intellectual and artistic acitivity are clearly impiled."(Intellectual Giants, pg.4) Similar said from Chapter 13, "The papal court of Julius II shared the humanist conviction that philosophy is the servant of theology and that beauty, even if derived from a pagan civilization, is a gift from God and not to be despised."(Cunningham 299)
Obviously, with how different the two worlds are, one pre-Christianization and one thrived with the rigorous spirit of Christianity, through this painting, we could still see that the Roman Catholic and the fellow artists of Renaissance expressed some sort of respect and yearn for the classical world, a sort of yearn for its glorious state as we see all kinds talented thinkers of that period gathered in one hall under the statues of their great god and goddess that expanded their world, even if it was looking at a world of pagans. This is why this painting is so interesting to me, especially looking at it from the angle of religions, and surely their influences.
Works Cited
Brilliant, Richard. “INTELLECTUAL GIANTS: A CLASSICAL TOPOS AND ‘THE SCHOOL OF ATHENS.’” Source: Notes in the History of Art, vol. 3, no. 4, 1984, pp. 1–12. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/23202233. Accessed 12 Mar. 2021.
Kennedy, Jimmy. “Why Pope Julius II May Be the Most Important Pope in History - Vatican Tips.” Vatican Tips, 14 Dec. 2019, vaticantips.com/pope-julius-ii/. Accessed 12 Mar. 2021.
Reich, John J, and Cunningham, Lawrence. “Culture and Values. Volume 2.” Belmont, Calif., Wadsworth; Andover, 2013. Accessed 12 Mar. 2021.
The Cogito. “The School of Athens, Raphael | Art Analysis (Video Essay).” YouTube, 24 Sept. 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyhVZ89GdGw. Accessed 12 Mar. 2021.
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