00:21The school of Athens, one of the most celebrated works of Renaissance art, was created by Raphael
00:28when he was in his mid-twenties, and, remarkably, was one of the very first large-scale frescoes
00:35he ever even attempted.
00:39Invited to Rome in 1508 as a relatively unknown painter to work alongside a number of other
00:45artists to decorate Pope Julius II's newly created papal apartments, he quickly managed
00:51to outshine them all, single-handedly winning the commission to paint all four of Julius'
00:57new rooms, firmly establishing himself as one of the two most creative forces in Rome,
01:04together with Michelangelo, eight years his senior, then hard at work on painting the ceiling
01:09of the Sistine Chapel, just around the corner.
01:16And just like the Sistine Chapel ceiling, today, over 500 years later, the school of Athens stands
01:24as one of the most iconic monuments to the magnificence of the High Renaissance, a seemingly superhuman
01:31feat of elaborately constructed beauty and harmony, whose rich symbolism and elegantly subtle
01:37levels of meaning continue to captivate anyone willing to spend a few moments uncovering and
01:43appreciating them.
01:46Which is exactly what we'll do now.
01:54Those are the most important things we'll be thinking there are in this moment.
01:54in the same place, because I'm so surprised.
01:54What the name is, is that you've got a face to do as aometric scene, and you've had a
01:55very good view of the conceit of the design.
01:55To be in the same place, you've got a piece of effect of theям.
01:55And this is the case.
01:55And this is, a piece of the design, a piece of the design of the design, a piece of the
01:55design,
01:55and the design with the design of the design and the design of the sketch of the design.
01:55And it's a piece of the design of the design for the design of the design.
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