Conjecture and Proof: A Case of Shifting Identities in Raphael’s School of Athens

Year: 2011 Authors: Katherine Smith Abbott; Stephen Abbott

Core claim

Raphael’s School of Athens invites changing identifications, but those claims should be judged by the painting’s original context, patronage, and evidence, not modern desire for mathematical heroes.

Topics

Raphael’s School of Athens, Hypatia identification, art-historical attribution, Renaissance humanism

Domains

history of mathematics, Pythagoras, Archimedes, Renaissance painting, fresco iconography, art attribution, Vatican decoration

Methods

visual analysis, historical comparison, source criticism, iconographic interpretation

Media

fresco, printed biographies, engraving, figure detail

Source status

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