Historical Treasures

The School Of Athens

Thanks to the Avignon Papacy and the Western Schism in the 14th century, the absence of the popes in Rome left the city neglected, with dilapidated churches and buildings. As a result, cultural patronage in the early years of the Renaissance played an essential role in bolstering the prestige of the papacy, with numerous popes becoming patrons of architecture, art and literature.

Although patronage was used to restore papal power, the popes usually sponsored personal projects of their own, which demonstrated their power and helped to cement their individual legacies. In turn, this provided steady work that allowed several Renaissance artists to flourish during this period.

The election of Pope Martin V in 1417 marked the end of the schism, and three years later he returned to Rome, where he quickly got to work restoring the city. Through the various commissions of subsequent popes, Rome eventually became a centre for the Italian Renaissance. One of the most famous examples of these commissions is the rebuilding and restoration of the Sistine Chapel on the orders of Pope Sixtus IV, who hired painters such as Botticelli and Ghirlandaio to decorate it.

The chapel’s ceiling was painted by Michelangelo under the patronage of Pope Julius II, Sixtus IV’S nephew, one of the most prolific patrons of the 16th century. A noted patron of the architect Bramante, Julius spent vast amounts on his art patronage while managing to leave the papal treasury full upon his death.

In 1508, Julius invited the painter Raphael to redecorate four reception rooms at the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace, which have since become known as the ‘Raphael Rooms’. It is believed that Julius wanted to outshine the rooms of his predecessor, Pope Alexander VI, who had commissioned the nearby Borgia Apartments.

The first room to be decorated, the Stanza della Segnatura, was Julius’s library and private office. It contains Raphael’s most famous fresco, The School of Athens, which depicts an imaginary gathering of Greek philosophers. An allegory for rational truth, it is regarded as one of the most important frescoes in history.