The School of Athens

Heraclitus, modeled on Michelangelo, sits alone on the marble steps leaning on a stone block while writing. To his right, Diogenes the Cynic reclines in a relaxed, solitary position. The lower portion of the image shows the painted architectural frame of the room, including decorative garlands and monochrome reliefs.

This gathering of philosophers represents the 'Perennial Philosophy' or Prisca Theologia, the idea that a single thread of truth runs through all ancient wisdom traditions. Heraclitus specifically embodies the concept of 'melancholy' which Renaissance Neoplatonists associated with philosophical genius and spiritual insight.