AP Art History all
School of Athens Raphael. 1509-1511 C.E. Fresco
-Represents all the greatest mathematicians, philosophers and scientists from classical antiquity gathered together sharing their ideas and learning from each other. They all lived at different times -Plato and Aristotle are in the center. Plato points up because he believed that the changing world we see around us is just a glimpse of a higher, truer reality that is eternal and unchanging. He is holding his book called the Timaeus. Aristotle holds his hand down because he believed the only reality is the one that we cannot see but one we can experience and see through touch and sight. He is holding a book called Ethics. -Pythagoras is on the lower left. He thought the world operated mathematic laws. These laws related to ideas of music, cosmic harmony, and God. He taught that each planet makes a note as it moves, based on its distance from earth -Ptolemy is located on the lower right with his back turned holds a sphere of the earth. He tried to mathematically explain the movements of the planets. Raphael included himself in this and he is next to Ptolemy.