High Renaissance Ideals

During the High Renaissance art leaned towards the direction of neo-Platonism. Neo-Platonists believed that philosophy and Christian belief were of the same on a higher level. Along with the up rise of Neo-Platonism, ideals of calmness, order, and rationality develop into an expression throughout the course of the High Renaissance. Such ideals are expressed in, School of Athens, by Raphael. Raphael’s knowledge of human powers appears evident in his painting.

Through Raphael’s expression of calmness his panting portrays a realistic impression. While examining the painting a sense of relaxed emotion is represented throughout the characters. Raphael’s illustration creates an organized calmness through the mind. By having small groups of people gathering together creates a feeling of collaboration through the conversations being held by the characters. By having little commotion we are able to see the thought behind each individual expression and motions. For example on the right side of the painting we see a group of people gathered around a man presenting an idea to the rest of the group. The expressions of the group members are ever so lightly articulated but we see that they are not in question rather they are expressing a deeper contemplation of their understanding to the subject matter. By using such composures of a natural mind expressing calmness emphasized the true thought behind the characters reactions. Although the painting represents separate sides we see them evenly expressing the same ideals, understanding the reason between both.

As a result of his exploration through order Raphael expresses a division of neo-Platonism in his painting. Through his use of symmetry and proportion, Raphael produces a balanced representation of Plato’s and Aristotle’s theories. While analyzing the image we see that the painting is symmetrically divided, representing the two theories on one side or the other. On the left side Raphael illustrate Plato among other peers who fallow his theory of a high realm. The meaning of high realm in a way is said to be that god is the creator of man; he is the base on all knowledge. Where as on the right side standing next to Plato is Aristotle. While Plato’s half demonstrates Christen belief, the side with Aristotle represents his theory of the real world through observation and experience. His ideas are based off of math being the base of all knowledge. Although the two sides are proportionally equal they use a sense of geometry and comparative balance creating a practical relation between neo-Platonism. This is shown by having each follower of the two philosophers on each side of the painting that which they practice. By dividing the groups Raphael used practical arrangements to produce an importance of order throughout his painting.

Another ideal Raphael represented in school of Athens was rationality. Although Raphael painted the building in the background before it was complete, the overall scale is a close resemblance once built. The use of liner perspective to calculate the measurements was a geometric device used to accurately generate an image of practicality. For instance the building is of much larger scare compared to the characters that occupy the ground levels. In real life the ceiling is around 40 ft tall, Raphael’s art piece embodies this. Many other characterizations in the building portray proportional numerical geometry. This is demonstrated in the arches repeated with hexagons suppressed in the material to create a pattern and use of geometric shape. By using mathematical measurements to create space Raphael’s ideals of rationality are established in his painting creating a real life experience, and a technique for others to fallow and improve.

Raphael is known well for his works done in the high renaissance era. He demonstrated an ability of realism by bringing forward ideals into his art such as explained. The painting School of Athens, is a masterpiece that helped shape the understanding of human emotion and natural world.