The Parnassus and Cardinal & Theological Virtues

What kind of "true" writer starts a blog, shares it, and then leaves her readers (if she has any) waiting?

Well, unfortunately I needed to wait for a hard drive to come in the mail before I could make room on my laptop for all 2,755 pictures I took on the tour...and pictures make posts interesting, particularly on travel blogs. So...sorry. Also, I was busy writing up art evaluations (all of which are posted below) and other assignments for 202, which you will now be flooded with. But at least there are pictures!

Since The School of Athens and even The Disputa are usually examined by scholars and students, I’d like to discuss the two other frescoes in Raphael’s Stanza della Segnatura: The Parnassus and Cardinal and Theological Virtues.

(On the far right, staring out of The School of Athens fresco, is Raphael's self-portrait.)

Raphael painted both The Parnassus and Cardinal and Theological Virtues in 1511 as part of his commission from Pope Julius II to paint The Stanze, four reception rooms in the Vatican Palace (now a part of the Vatican Museum). Both the frescoes that adorn these rooms and Michelangelo’s frescoes in the Sistine Chapel are masterpieces of the Renaissance’s height in Rome.

(The School of Athens, representing philosophy. Sadly, I wasn't able to get a full picture of it.)

(The Disputa, representing theology. This is the wall you see when you enter the room.)

All four walls of the Stanza della Segnatura represent the four aspects of knowledge, namely philosophy (The School of Athens), theology (La Disputa), the arts (The Parnassus), and the virtues and law (Cardinal and Theological Virtues, with The Law beneath them on either side of the window).

The Parnassus, representing the arts, depicts a scene on Mount Parnassus, upon which Delphi, the sanctuary of Apollo’s oracle, clings. In the center of the fresco sits Apollo, playing a violin and surrounded by the nine muses, nine early poets (including Homer, Virgil, Sappho, and Dante), and nine poets contemporary to Raphael’s time. The eighteen poets and the god Apollo are all crowned with laurel wreaths. In Ancient Greece, victors in both athletic and poetic competitions would have been crowned with laurel wreaths, so the laurel wreath became a symbol of achievement and excellence.

Cardinal and Theological Virtues depicts three women surrounded by cherubs. The three women represent three of the four cardinal virtues (Prudence, Justice, Temperance, and Fortitude) and three of the cherubs represent the three theological virtues (Faith, Hope, and Charity). The personifications of the seven virtues can be identified as follows: Fortitude is represented dressed in armor with a lion at her side, and holding a palm branch. Prudence, with two faces, looks into a mirror. Temperance holds up a bridle and reins. The fourth cardinal virtue, Justice, is depicted on the ceiling just above this wall. 

(Justice is the woman dressed in purple)

A closer view of Justice on the right.
   (Center: Judgment of Solomon)

She is crowned and holds a raised sword in one hand and a set of scales in the other. Interestingly, I noticed that her eyes seem to be closed, reflecting the usual depiction of a blindfolded Justice. Faith is seated on the far left of the fresco, behind Temperance, pointing upwards as if reminding us of God. Hope holds up a torch and looks over Prudence’s shoulder at her mirror. And Charity is depicted reaching towards Fortitude’s branch, as if gathering fruit, one of the common symbols of the virtue charity.

The reflection of Ancient Greece and classical ideals in these frescoes is one of the more prominent characteristics of Renaissance art. In the Renaissance, they adopted the classical appreciation of knowledge, poetry, and the ideal human, a human who can excel.

I had the following thoughts on seeing these paintings: Raphael’s paintings are quite beautiful. They are very idealistic in setting and in the people. To me, it is almost dreamlike. I look at The School of Athens, Parnassus, and The Virtues, and I wish I could enter that world, especially when I see it in person—a large fresco on the wall, like a doorway into those scenes.