The School of Athens

Raphael’s The School of Athens is a landmark Renaissance fresco in the Vatican. Painted for Pope Julius II, it gathers ancient philosophers and scientists beneath a grand classical architecture, with Plato and Aristotle at the center. Its balanced composition and precise perspective make it one of the most admired images of intellectual life in Western art.

Commissioned by Pope Julius II for the Stanze di Raffaello in the Apostolic Palace, Vatican City.