Raphael‟s “The School of Athens”: A Hypothesis on the Identity and Symbolic Meaning of the Figure in White Cloak: The True Muse of Raphael

Abstract

Raphael’s fresco “The School of Athens” is rich with figures of prominent philosophers who are identified by their certain characteristic details. The identity of a figure in Raphael’s “The School of Athens” Plato group traditionally attributed to Francesco Rovere, is currently being questioned. Present article brings forward a new hypothesis on this matter: the aforementioned figure is seen as a collective figure that symbolizes the unity of a man and a woman, in this case, Raphael and his muse. Besides, this figure also encodes the year when the fresco was painted. As a key to the code, the blackboard containing the Platonic perfect number 10 immediately at the figure’s feet is important, as well as the positions of some of the figures in the first row on the left part of the painting. The article also makes some revelations about Raphael’s real muse, who, according to the author, was the courtesan Imperia. Evidence of this is the fact that Imperia is portrayed in many of Raphael’s works.