The School of Athens

So, you're looking at a fresco that’s basically the ultimate intellectual party, thrown by a Pope, no less. Pope Julius II wanted to decorate his private library around 1510, and what better way to show off your smarts than with a massive painting of all the greatest thinkers of antiquity? Never mind that these brilliant minds all lived at different times; here they are, gathered together in a grand hall that looks suspiciously like the new St. Peter's Basilica that was being built at the time. At the dead center, you have the two headliners: Plato and his student, Aristotle, locked in what appears to be a heated debate. Plato, looking a bit like Leonardo da Vinci, points to the heavens, going on about his airy-fairy world of ideal Forms. Aristotle, ever the pragmatist, gestures down to the solid ground, emphasizing the importance of the here and now. Their opposing philosophies are the whole point of the piece. The guest list is a real who's who of ancient brainiacs. You've got Pythagoras scribbling away in a corner, obsessed with the mathematical harmony of the universe. Sprawled on the steps is Diogenes the Cynic, clearly unimpressed by the whole affair. And in a bit of Renaissance shade, Heraclitus, the gloomy philosopher, is said to be a portrait of the notoriously moody Michelangelo. It’s all arranged with a masterful use of perspective, drawing your eye right to the main event. The composition is so orderly, it’s almost as if someone is trying to impose reason and harmony on a bunch of squabbling philosophers. The whole scene is a celebration of knowledge and the idea that even pagan philosophy could have a place in a Christian world, a rather progressive thought for its time. And yes, that is the artist himself, peeking out from the crowd, making sure you appreciate his work.