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A 3 page analysis that compares Michelangelo's masterpiece, the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and Raphael's masterful fresco 'School of Athens,' while demonstrating the tremendous influence of classical Greek philosophy on these works. Bibliography lists 2 sources.
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3 pages (~225 words per page)
File: KE9_99mikrap.doc
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ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, and a similar examination of Raphaels masterful fresco "School of Athens" will demonstrate the tremendous influence of classical Greek philosophy on their work. The
painting of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican occurred fairly early in the career of Michelangelo. The painting was begun in 1508 and completed in 1512 (Ryan
23). The Sistine ceiling was conceived by Michelangelo as an "organic composition," which drew its motivation from a single unifying philosophical as well as artistic design (Fleming 191). The iconography
represented in the painting was a fusion of traditional Hebrew-Christian theology and the Neoplatonic philosophy that Michelangelo acquired from his time spent in the Medici household (Fleming 191). The way
that Michelangelo the space on the Sistine ceiling reflects Platonic philosophy. For example, the overall painting is divided into three distinct zones in which there are varying intensities of light
(Fleming 191). These zones have Platonic significance in that they refer to the three Platonic stages, "the world of matter, the world of becoming and the world of being" (Fleming
192). Furthermore, the story which the painting depicts, rather then starting at Genesis and proceeding in chronologically order, has the story of creation in reverse order, "or as the Platonic
ascent of man from his lowest estate back to his divine origin" (Fleming 192). Michelangelos grouping of figures reflects both philosophical as well as artistic concerns. Each grouping around
the individual prophets has three levels, which correspond to Platos "tripartite concept of the soul, the appetitive, the emotional, and the intellective" (Fleming 193). But, these symbolic figures also play
an artistic role in that they soften the harsh contours of the architectural design (Fleming 193). At the same time that Michelangelo was painting the Sistine ceiling, Raphael, a
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