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Ptolemy and Strabo and Their Conversation with Appelles and Protogenes

Cosmography and Painting in Raphael's School of Athens

Bibliographic Data

ID10414736
AuthorsChristiane L Joost-Gaugier, Christiane L Joost‐Gaugier (corresponding author)
Year1998
Volume51
Issue3
Pages761-787
Publication date1998-10-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueRenaissance Quarterly (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0034-4338 • E-ISSN: 1935-0236
PublisherUniversity of Chicago Press (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.2307/2901745
OpenAlexW2010373799
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited16

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

Art · Art history · Cartography · Geographer · Geography · Globe · Humanism · Literature · Painting · Ptolemy's table of chords · Theology · Classics · Historical and Architectural Studies · Historical Astronomy and Related Studies · Historical, Religious, and Philosophical Studies · Philosophy · Psychology

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Unique citing works1
Citations per year0,08
Citation span2014 - 2014 (1)
Citation velocityhistorical
Highly citedNo
Citation typesNeutral: 1
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