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Raphael’s Introvert
How many figures from this famous fresco by Raphael you can name?
In the centre of it, we can witness two great philosophers — Plato (on the left) and Aristotle (on the right)— talking to each other.
Raphael modeled the figure of Plato after Leonardo Da Vinci from who he learned how to draw accurate perspective.
If we look a bit closer, in various parts of the fresco, we can find thinkers such as Anaximander, Pythagoras, Archimedes, and even the conqueror Alexander the Great himself.
Keep in mind that there is nothing superficial in great art. Every brushstroke, every colour, and every figure is intentional. If Raphael Santi placed someone in his masterpiece, it’s most definitely because he had something to convey.
There is, however, one figure hidden in this fresco whose identity we do not know.
Who is this mysterious introvert?
Raphael places him on the right hand of this fresco. Our introvert is intensely focused on his writing; we can’t see his face; his hair is fluttering in this otherwise windless square. He is a nameless figure surrounded by the most famous thinkers in history.
