Ptolemy and Strabo and Their Conversation with Appelles and Protogenes: Cosmography and Painting in Raphael's School of Athens
| Autor: | Christiane L. Joost-Gaugier |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 1998 |
| Předmět: |
Literature
History Painting Literature and Literary Theory Visual Arts and Performing Arts business.industry media_common.quotation_subject 05 social sciences 0507 social and economic geography Globe 06 humanities and the arts Art Humanism 060104 history Symbol medicine.anatomical_structure Ptolemy's table of chords medicine 0601 history and archaeology Conversation Geographer Cosmography business 050703 geography media_common |
| Zdroj: | Renaissance Quarterly. 51:761-787 |
| ISSN: | 1935-0236 0034-4338 |
| DOI: | 10.2307/2901745 |
| Popis: | This paper studies the group of men on the lower right side of Raphael's School of Athens. While the portrayal of Euclid is undisputed, the figures who are attached to him have not yet been firmly identified. In studying these figures as part of the intellectual fabric of the painting as a whole, it becomes clear that each of these figures has a meaningful role that cannot be deduced by mere guessing. The figure with his back to us is quite clearly the great mathematician-cosmographer Ptolemy of Alexandria. Not only because he wears a particular crown, but more importantly because the globe he holds is terrestrial - a symbol of his scientific contribution to the humanist curriculum - can we be certain of his presence. The man who faces him is most likely Strabo, the most famous geographer known throughout medieval times and one who was also appreciated by humanists, especially for his consideration of the sphere and the celestial aspects of the universe in his Geography. Both Ptolemy and Strabo are well placed next to Euclid, for both are concerned with geometry. The two men to the far right are, it is suggested here, two famous painters of Greek antiquity, Apelles (in the guise of Raphael) and Protogenes (in the guise of Timoteo Viti?), whose presence reflects the interests of artists in the early Cinquecento. All these heroes are appropriately placed on Aristotle's side of the painting. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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