Raphael, The School of Athens, begun 1509; Vatican Museums (1) (48758924111)

Plato, depicted with the features of Leonardo da Vinci, points upward toward the celestial realm of forms while holding his cosmological dialogue, the Timaeus. Beside him, Aristotle gestures toward the ground with a flat palm, signifying his focus on empirical observation and the physical world as he carries his Ethics. They are framed by a massive triumphal arch, serving as the focal point of a larger gathering of ancient thinkers.

This central grouping represents the Renaissance effort to reconcile Neoplatonic idealism with Aristotelian natural philosophy. The Timaeus, held by Plato, was the foundational text for Renaissance esoteric cosmology, describing the mathematical creation of the world and the 'anima mundi' or world-soul.