Why is the Pagan, "The School of Athens" fresco relevant in the Vatican?(part 2)

[Why is the Pagan, "The School of Athens" fresco relevant in the Vatican?(part 2)]

In the previous posting, I have introduced some of the reasons why this fresco abundant with the pagan theme was commissioned and accepted by the Vatican. In this posting, I would like to dig a little deeper. At the end of the previous posting, I have posed the question: "What is Plato pointing at?"

Let us examine this.

We can see that Plato is pointing upwards. This gesture of using the index finger may suggest that he is directing the viewer towards something important. This gesture can be seen in the paintings of Leonardo da Vinci. Saint Thomas in "The Last Supper" and the enigmatic figure in what is known as "St. John the Baptist" are making the similar gestures.
Above Plato, there are 3 window like openings, and we can see the sky. Number 3, of course, can suggest the Holy Trinity.

Nevertheless, I feel that there are even more important elements placed beyond these 3 openings at the top of this fresco. I have mentioned before that there are ceiling paintings beyond the fresco walls.  There is a tondo fresco directly above "The School of Athens" fresco showing a lady sitting on the throne holding the two books with each titled, "Moralis" and "Naturalis". These two books correspond with the two books, "Timeo/Timaeus" and "Etica/Ethics", held by Plato and Aristotle. ("Moralis" = "Ethics / "Naturalis" = "Timaeus")
She is a personification of Philosophy or Sophia (Wisdom) herself. Behind her, there are some Latin words inscribed on the two panels carried by the children: "CAVSARVM COGNITIO (Causarum Cognitio) / the Knowledge of the Causes
Her golden throne has the two sculptures showing the Goddess Diana with many breasts. Diana is a Roman name for the Greek Goddess Artemis, and she is a virgin moon goddess. Moon "reflects" the sun light as we reflect with our reason.
She is gazing towards her right. Her eyes are looking slightly above. Although there are many fresco panels on the ceiling, she seems to be not looking at any of them.
Because the ceiling is curved, the direction/"path" of her gaze also curves like the bullet trajectory, and it would eventually end at the center of the fresco, "Parnassus." There is Apollo at the upper center of this fresco, and Apollo is a Greco-Roman sun god. He is gazing above as if to meet the gaze of Diana.

Are any of these elements relevant in the Vatican? Considering how Catholic Christians had been zealously destroying the pagan idols since the establishing of the new state religion in the Roman Empire, it may seem quite odd to see this much pagan elements in the center of the Catholic religion.

If you are careful, you can observe an oddity in "The School of Athens".

I would like you to focus onto a man who is sitting in the foreground, the lower left side of the fresco from the viewer, contemplating and holding a pen to write something on the paper. He seems to be isolated from the rest and/or indifferent or oblivious to the others and the events surrounding him. If you pay attention to his feet, you can see that he is wearing the boots. While all the others are either wearing the sandals or being barefooted, this fellow is not. The legend says that the model for this figure is Michelangelo and the person portrayed here is the great Heraclitus.
Heraclitus was from the aristocratic family, and he was a misanthropist. The one who proclaimed that "all things are ever in a state of flux" was also a pessimist.   Nevertheless, he was a great philosopher who had discovered the existence of Logos, the organizing principle which brings order to the universe, so to speak. While Thales considered the water as the essential element and Anaximenes, the air, Heraclitus considered the fire as the essence and equated with Logos. This fire seems to be the fire that consumes the universe to destroy it in order to renew it as the Phoenix.
This figure of Heraclitus was not included in the original cartoon of the fresco, and it was later added before the fresco was completed.
It is interesting to note that you can draw a line connecting Heraclitus and Philo-Sophia via Plato's raised right hand.

If you turn to the right corner of the fresco, you can see the young Raphael posed as the legendary Greek painter, Apelles. The Renaissance painters sometimes placed themselves in the paintings as the participant and /or the witness. Apelles was a court painter to both King Philip of Macedon and King Alexander the Great. King Philip was King Alexander's father.

There happens to be a common denominator amongst Heraclitus, Apelles, and the two figures (Goddess Diana x 2) of the throne of Philo-Sophia.

What then, is this common denominator?
(...to be continued...)

Why is the Pagan, "The School of Athens" fresco relevant in the Vatican?

[Why is the Pagan, "The School of Athens" fresco relevant in the Vatican?]

I have mentioned briefly during my previous post that Aristotle was incorporated into the Catholic theology by Saint Thomas Aquinas. In fact, when I was studying the history of western philosophy, I remember hearing that Aristotle's philosophy was "baptized" by Saint Thomas Aquinas.

It is interesting to observe that this fresco is facing another fresco depicting the Christian theological dispute titled,"Disputa."
While some have placed the themes of these two fresco as rivaling or opposing, I hold the exact opposite stand point. As the old philosophy was "baptized," and the new churches were built on the old sacred sites, the Greco-Roman philosophy became the ground/soil where the early Christianity had sprouted. In fact, Saint Paul, in his speech, recognized the magnanimous hearts of the ancient Greeks who had built the alter for "the unknown god" (Acts 17:23).

Many things can be said about the importance of this fresco from the point of view of the 15th/16th century Catholic theology, but today, I would like to be selective and point out only a few things.

Because the way the perspective is used, it is very easy for us to focus onto the two central figures, Plato and Aristotle.
First of all, how do we know that these are Plato and Aristotle?
If you pay attention to the books they are holding, you can get the sort of the hint. An older looking person is holding a book with the inscribed title, "Timeo (Timaeus/Timaios)," and the younger looking person is holding a book with the title, "Etica (Nicomachean Ethics)."
"Timaeus" is one of the dialogues of Plato, and "Nicomachean Ethics" is one of the several works on ethics by Aristotle. It is very interesting to point that "Timaeus" mentions about the creation of the universe by "demiurge," a Divine presence. Through "Nicomachean Ethics", Aristotle expressed how to be ethically virtuous. If we pay attention to the gestures of the two, Plato is pointing upwards with his right hand, and Aristotle is pointing downwards with his right hand thus creating sort of upward and downward movements. At the same time, Plato's pointing index finger may represent the singularity (of the Divine = one god), and Aristotle's open hand may represents the multiplicity (many men/women)thus forming the one and the many relationship.
Plato is known for his philosophy on Idea-lism and the dualism (i.e., body and soul), while Aristotle is known for his Categories and Metaphysics.

Without going into detail of rather complex philosophy of the two, and just by observing their gestures and the two books in this fresco, we can see the correlation to Christian theology (of pre-reformation 15th/16th century "Italy").
"Timaeus" held by Plato points to the creator (demiurge/god), and Plato is, in fact, pointing upwards. The book is held vertically, thus suggesting the vertical relationship between the creator and the creation below. One of the major themes in the biblical scriptures is to remember where we have come from and who is the Creator of this universe.
If this idea is "baptized", then, it would lead to one of the two most important commandments given by Jesus: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind." (Luke:10:27 / King James)

"Ethics" held by Aristotle, with his right hand with its palm open to suggest the many, points downwards to the humanity amongst the universe. He asks, "How can the humans be happy?" The answer leads to the practical life lived (practiced) with virtue. Ethics is related to all of us that is equal under the Creator. The book is held horizontally, and it is suggesting the horizontal relationships of the humanity.
If this idea is "baptized", it may lead to the second commandment by Jesus: "...and (love)thy neighbour as thyself." (Ibid)

While "Timaeus" connects evil with the physical body and admitting the existence of the essence of evil that cannot be overcome by effort (will) nor the power of reason (nous) alone, "Nicomachean Ethics" disagree with such view and puts evil back to our responsibility and, in a way, rejects the idea of Platonic view of the inevitability of evil.
If we "baptize" these ideas, the Platonic evil can be understood from the point of view of the original sin where the grace from Divine alone may be able to transform such condition. The Aristotelian evil can be prevented or overcome by following the 10 Commandments, etc.

Furthermore, if we superimpose the images of these two books (placed vertically and horizontally), we have the symbolic "cross".


As we can see that even if we limit ourselves to the observation of the gestures of the two central figures, we can make the connection to the Catholic theology of.

...then, my next question is: "What is Plato pointing at?"
(...to be continued)

"The School of Athens"

["The School of Athens"]

I have mentioned in the previous blog that "The School of Athens" predominantly shows the well known ancient Greek philosophers.

Have you ever wondered why the pre-Christian 'Pagan' school of philosophy is allowed to be on the Signature Room wall of the Vatican? ... and not only that the tondo ceiling painting is also depicting the Pagan theme?

As I have said before in my blog, in order to be fair, we must see the mural from the point of view of the ones who had envisioned and commissioned to Raphael.
When we study about the Renaissance paintings, we must never forget that most of them were the commissioned paintings. The so called, artists, back then were more like the artisan/craftsman. They took the commissions to live. As a matter of fact, the commissions needed the final approval of the clients. At the same time, the nature of each commission is the so called, "made to order." The clients did 'order' what to paint. They even specified what sort of the color and the pigment they want the painters to use! There is an evidence of the copy of the original contract between a client and Ghirlandaio (one of the Master teachers of Michelangelo) where a client specifies what pigment to be used!

(..from the actual contract between Domenico Ghirlandaio and the Prior of the Spedele degli Innocenti)

"...and he must colour the panel at his own expense with good colours and with powdered gold on such ornaments as demand it,  with any other expense incurred on the same panel, and the blue must be ultramarine of the value about four florins the ounce..."

(citation: page 6, "Painting and Experience in Fifteenth Century Italy" by Michael Baxandall / Oxford University Press  1972)


If the painter fail to comply after signing the contract, he is subjected to the litigation. If the client is the Church, one can face the inquisition and the death penalty (burnt at the stake after being subjected to the torture)!!!!

So, it is obvious that the client, in this case, Pope Julius II, and Raphael's Papal advisers had approved the fresco, and the subsequent Popes as well. I say this because there is the case with Michelangelo where the later Pope (Pope Pius IV) had ordered the lesser known painter, Daniele da Volterra, to over paint the unacceptable portions of the original mural.
We have to keep in mind that during those eras, unless one has the extensive theological knowledge (as Fra Angelico, who was a painter and a revered Dominican monk) and the wit to convince or persuade the Papal court, a painter remained as a simple tool for the court to manifest their visions.

Then, why did the Pope commissioned Raphael to paint this fresco and the tondos above?
What is the relation/connection between the Vatican / Catholic Christianity and the ancient Greek (Pagan) philosophy/philosophers?

If this was the painting of or about Aristotle, it is easier to understand, for the philosophy of Aristotle was highly valued and incorporated into the theology of Catholic Christianity by Saint Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274), the Dominican Angelic Doctor of the Church who is considered one of the most important Catholic Theologians.

We shall explore on this in the future.
Thank you!

Male or Female?

[Male or Female?]

Please take a good look at these 2 images.
Can you tell me the gender of these 2 figures?
(I am sure that if you have studied the Art history, you already know the answers.)
Male? or Female?
By the way, if you have kindly answered on the wall section of my facebook profile, I thank you very much!
Very well then, let us begin with the image A.

If you have thought that this is a male figure, you are correct.
At the same time, if you have thought that this is a female figure, you are correct, too!
How so? How can a person be both male and female?
This, of course, would require an explanation.

First of all, this image (A) is from one of the four fresco murals titled, "The School of Athens," and it was painted by Raphael(Raffaello Sanzio). It was painted between 1510-1511 in the Stanza della Segnatura of the Vatican. The theme of this fresco can be Philosophy (pre-Christian), and it is situated directly under the tondo(round)-fresco titled, “Causarum Cognitio(Cognition/Knowledge of Causes).”
As a matter of fact, most of the characters in this fresco are the ancient Greek philosophers with the two beings, Plato and Aristotle, towering at the central portion of the fresco. The legend has it that the model of Plato was Leonardo da Vinci, whom Raphael adored.
The image A in question is from the lower left(of the viewer)section of this fresco.
If you feel that the gender of this being is not necessary clear, you have the point, for the male model is used to portray the female character. Using a male model for a female is not so surprising, for Michelangelo is known for that.
In the world of music, the role of soprano used to be played by a male singer (counter tenor and castrato).

The name of the model is Francesco Maria Della Rovere, an actual historical figure. Francesco was the nephew of Giuliano della Rovere (Pope Julius II).
The character portrayed here is Hypatia, a well known female ancient Greek scholar from Alexandria (..who was brutally murdered by the fanatic early Christian mobs). According to a legend, she had remained a virgin and rejected the 'carnal desires.' She had lectured boldly as if she were a man.

Let us move onto the image B. If you have thought that this is a male figure, you are correct. This image is the part of one of the four fresco murals I have mentioned above in the Stanza della Segnatura, and the title is "Disputa (Disputation of the Holy Sacrament)." While the upper half of this mural is depicting the Biblical personages, the lower part consists of the historical personages. In here, the figure in question is portrayed as Francesco Maria Della Rovere himself, and he is standing next to Bramante, a Papal court appointed architect, who happens to be the relative of Raphael.

Now you have the answers. Now we are ready to explore a figure in Leonardo da Vinci's "The Last Supper." ...and that will be discussed in the future blog of mine...
Thank you friends!

"Honey, could you pass me a fork?"

("Honey, could you pass me a fork?")

If I tell you that such request could not have been possible during the time of Leonardo's last years in France, would you believe it?
The fact is that the forks were introduced to France by Catherine de Medici in 1533 when she married Henry II. That was 14 years after the death of Leonardo! It also seems that the forks were not widely used until 16th Century in "Italy." (http://www.hospitalityguild.com/History/history_of_the_fork.htm)

Now the question is: "How many of you have wondered what those people were using as the utensils instead of the forks?  Well, that seemingly very innocent and perhaps even imaginative inquiry may carry the bias/prejudice within. ...if we were to consider that the fork is the valuable object. Furthermore, if we were to even think (or feel) that those people back then were barbaric for not using(or even knowing about) the forks to eat, then the prejudice becomes evident. ...and this is one of the aspects of the human consciousness that we must be careful to observe and deal with when we are researching the human history.

I have already mentioned in the earlier blog that the study of the human history is the study of the history/evolution of human consciousness. The above example shows that what we possess as the modern/contemporary consciousness may not be the same in the different time periods. While we have the consciousness that involves the use of the cell phone to call someone and/or the laptop to send the email via internet to communicate globally, it is not the same consciousness of 50 years ago when the people communicated by using the telephone (land line) or sending the telegram. There were no consciousness of recycling (of the plastic) or car-pooling 75 years ago. 

What I mean by consciousness is much more than simply having the concept or awareness. It is something which is embedded much deeper into our psyche. It may also include the habitual way of thinking. Many of us may set the alarm clock to wake up on the certain time of the day. "To set the alarm clock to wake up" is the modern consciousness. Many of the painters would go to the art supply store to obtained the "paints in the tubes", while the painters during the Renaissance having no such consciousness, for they had to mix the pigments with the emulsion/vehicles to create their own paints. We can go on and on about the examples.

In order to get to know the era where Leonardo da Vinci had lived, we must first erase our memory and bring our consciousness as close to that era as possible. Moreover, depends on what part of Leonardo's biography we are going to research, we may even have to erase the part of our memory concerning Leonardo. In other words, if we are going to study about "The Last Supper," we have to imagine and consider the person who has not yet painted "Mona Lisa." We are educated, so we already know what Leonardo had done. We know of Leonardo as a person who had completed his biological/physical life. That in-itself may hider us from trying to know Leonardo who was still living. ...and in order to know about the contemporary world of Leonardo, we need to consider the civilization, the culture, the people, of that time having no knowledge about the world to come. The people who lived around the time when Leonardo had commenced the painting of "The Last Supper" (approx. 1495AD) mural did not know about the U.S.A, for Columbus had just re-discovered the continent a few years back. Raphael, who was only 12 years old then, was not yet known to the people as the great painter of Madonna and the child, and he had just lost his father a year before or so. Reformation (Protestantism)was unheard of. The people could not buy the printed Bible...so on and so forth... 

We must, in a way, forget everything we know since 1495 in order to be closer to the consciousness of the people back then. Also, we may have to forget the world history from other cultures (and/or the 'foreign cultures' all together), for the common people in that period/era were not necessary informed/educated enough to know what we already know of the ancient cultures, geography, mythologies, etc.

We need to see the world through their eyes and their consciousness.

We need to encounter them as if for the first time.

We must grow with them and walk along the path they are(were) treading.

Whenever I have taught the art/music history to my high school students, I have introduced the simple exercise. It has everything to do with the attempt to "erase the memory of the contemporary civilization/culture."

So, let us do the simple exercise. Close your eyes and sit comfortably. A little by little, by going backwards in time, try to erase the memory of what we know as "our" culture. Erase the laptops, iPods, facebook, cell phones, Academy Awards, sushi, psychoanalysis, cars, airplanes, televisions, radios, World Wars, light bulbs, steam engines, French Revolutions, Beethoven, Shakespeare, printed books, .... until you come to that particular era where people dressed in such and such clothes and did such and such for living, etc. Hold that scene in your mind. Look around you. Walk around the town. ...and be among them as one of them and not as the visitor...

Now, what do you see?

Fairness in judging the history

(Fairness in judging the history)

The study of the human history is far more complex than the study of the history of nature. It is the study of the history (evolution) of human consciousness reflecting the development of mental, intellectual, cognitive faculties (...and much more). It is also the study of both individual and collective human psycho-emotional development. Each era may gift us or challenge us in some new ways, and as a matter of fact, we may adopt/adapt to the new situation/ideas or reject them.

When we do the research, especially to do with the human history, first and foremost, it is essential to put ourselves in the shoes of the people of that ear/period. We need to be able to think and feel as the people of those eras might have done and not just transplanting ourselves (our contemporary mind) into those eras as we are.

As soon as we try to evaluate the history by applying our 20th/21st Century mentality/mind set, we are in danger of introducing something very foreign to the historical period(s) in question. We may be unwittingly introducing the bias, prejudice, and/or values only relevant to us.
During our century, we have been awakened/re-awakened (introduced )to the many new ideas through the different movements. Within the artistic movements alone, the people had to readjust our ideas about art.

For example, we are too educated and informed compared to the majority of the common people in the 15th Century Europe, the time of Leonardo da Vinci. Back then, Italy was not yet united as an independent country as we know today. Although the illiteracy maybe the problem today, back then, it was far worse.

In the coming blog, I will introduce one of the exercises I have done with my students.