Stanza della Segnatura, Raphael

• In 1508, Pope Julius II commissioned Raphael to decorate the papal apartments in the Vatican, Rome.
• The papal apartments consist of four large rooms (Stanze) that served as the pope's residence.
• Julius II chose not to reside in the previous pope's apartments.
• The Stanza della Segnatura, meaning signature, was used as a library and was the first room to be decorated from 1509-1511.
• The themes of the walls in the Stanza della Segnatura are theology, law, poetry, and philosophy.
• These themes represent the four branches of human knowledge.
• Neoplatonic concepts are present in the room's decorations.
• The ceiling rounders depict Disputa (theology), School of Athens (philosophy), Parnassus (poetry), and Virtues and Rulers (justice).
• A theologian developed the program for the room's setup.
• The Disputa (theology) is positioned across from the School of Athens (philosophy).
• Philosophy represents the pre-Christian search for knowledge, completed through the finding of religion (theology).
• Parnassus represents the arts (poetry).
• Law is divided into civil and canon law (justice).
• The harmony of theology, law, poetry, and philosophy completes all aspects of knowledge.

School of Athens

• Is 19ft x 27ft in size.
• The architecture resembles an ancient Roman bathhouse, with coffered ceilings that recall ancient ruins, creating a classical space.
• Plato (believed to be Leonardo da Vinci) and Aristotle are in the center.
• Apollo and Athena are depicted on either side of Plato and Artistotle.
• Plato, drawn as an elder, holds Timaeus and points upwards to the sky.
• Aristotle carries his Nicomachean Ethics and gestures to empirical evidence on earth.
• Socrates is depicted in green on Plato’s side.
• Epicurus is in blue in the left corner
• Pythagoras is below, writing on a board in front of him.
• Michelangelo is in the foreground.
• The painting employs linear and atmospheric perspective.

Disputa or Triumph of the Church

• Is 19 x 27ft in size.
• Depicts the Dispute of the Most Holy Sacrament.
• It features a double-decker composition representing the church militant and the church triumphant.
• God the Father is in the center at the top.
• The Holy Spirit is depicted in a golden orb.
• Christ is flanked by the Virgin Mary and John the Baptist.
• On the Virgin Mary's side are six figures: Jeremiah, St. Laurence, David, John the Evangelist, Adam, and Peter in golden yellow and blue, representing the Old Testament and New Testament.
• On John the Baptist's side are St. Peter, Moses, St. James, St. Paul, and Peter.
• A large monstrance is in the center at the bottom atop an altar.
• The monstrance represents Christ’s body (transubstantiation).

Parnassus

• Represents poetry
• Features the Fountain of Castalia
• Apollo is depicted in blue drapery under the laurel tree.
• Apollo is surrounded by the nine muses.
• Calliope, the muse of epic poetry, sits next to him in white.
• Homer is in blue and yellow, and depicted as blind.

Law (Justice)

• The lunette above features Temperance on the right, Fortitude on the left, and Prudence in the center.
• Justice is depicted in the vault above.
• On either side of the window: Justinian I (left) represents the law that guides all Western law. St. Raymond (right) is depicted receiving the law.
• The frescoes on the walls balance free thinking with man’s need for justice and law.

The Vault

• Restates the themes of the four frescos.
• Between theology and law is the Fall of Man.
• Between law and philosophy is the Judgment of Solomon.
• Between philosophy and poetry is the Fixing of the Cosmos.
• Between poetry and theology is the Flaying of Marsyas.
• Above the rectangles depict scenes from Roman mythology.
• In the center is the coat of arms.