The School of Athens

Raphael

1509–1511 · Fresco · Stanza della Segnatura, Vatican Museums, Vatican City

Size2:3 ratio

Frame

$59Unframed print · made to order

📦 Free shipping on every order, arriving in 4–9 business days with production included. Express ($14.90) at checkout arrives in 4–6 business days.

Complete the setHangs well with these two

3 × $59 at 16 × 24 in, unframed = $177 → $159.30 as a set · 10% included · free shipping

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Giclée-printed to order on heavyweight matte fine-art paper

Free shipping worldwide · arrives in 4–9 business days

Arrives perfect or we reprint it — free

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About this work

Artist: Raphael (1483–1520)
Year: 1509–1511
Medium: Fresco
Original size: 500 × 770 cm
Collection: Stanza della Segnatura, Vatican Museums, Vatican City
Movement: Renaissance
Series: Raphael Rooms (Stanze)

The philosophers of antiquity gather under a great coffered vault: Plato, pointing upward, and Aristotle, gesturing to the earth, walk toward the viewer at the centre, with Pythagoras, Euclid, Ptolemy, Diogenes and dozens of others arranged on the steps around them. Raphael painted the fresco between 1509 and 1511 on a wall of the Stanza della Segnatura, the private library of Pope Julius II, as part of a scheme representing philosophy, theology, poetry and law. The architecture recalls Bramante's designs for the new St Peter's, and several figures are portraits: Leonardo as Plato, Michelangelo as the brooding Heraclitus, Raphael himself at the far right. It is the most complete statement of High Renaissance order and remains in place in the Vatican.

This exhibition-poster edition shows the whole work beneath original typography set in-house. The original is in the public domain.

Where it works

A wide fresco of figures under a coffered vault, best in a study, library or office at 24×36 where the architecture reads from a desk. Black on a warm wall; it suits a room with books and little else hung.

Style, size & framing detail

Style: Exhibition poster of a Renaissance painting
Era: 16th century (1509–1511)
Orientation: Portrait
Palette: cream & beige
Mood: grand
Rooms: study or library, home office, living room, dining room, dorm room
Good gift for: housewarming, art lovers

Size. We'd hang this one at 24×36. Prints at 12×18, 16×24, 24×36 in — 12×18 for a shelf, desk or a gallery-wall grid; 16×24 above a desk, console or in a hallway; 24×36 as the statement piece above a sofa or bed.

Framing. Exhibition posters sit best in a slim black frame with no mat — the typeset margin is the mat.

Pairing. Pairs as a set of three with other famous painting prints (10% off three or more).

Details & materials

• Exhibition poster — original, drawn in-house • Heavyweight matte fine-art paper, giclée printed at 300 DPI • Sizes: 12×18, 16×24, 24×36 in; every size also available framed • Framed option: wood frame in black or natural wood, 12 mm wide and 22 mm deep, with a plexiglass front and no mat; the print is mounted inside and the frame's outside measures the listed size • Made to order; colours may vary slightly from screen

Shipping & returns

Printed after you order at the facility nearest you, then shipped. Standard delivery is free and takes 4–9 business days from order to door in the US, UK and EU (up to 10 elsewhere); Express takes 4–6 business days. Because each print is made to order we don't take change-of-mind returns, but if it arrives damaged or flawed we'll reprint or refund it — no return needed. Full policy →

Is this the whole painting, or a crop?

The whole work, uncropped. The exhibition-poster edition sets the complete image above typography designed in-house.

Is The School of Athens in the public domain?

Yes. Raphael (1483–1520) died more than 70 years ago and the work was published before 1929, so the painting itself is public domain. This print is a reproduction made from a high-resolution scan of the original, which is held by Stanza della Segnatura.

What is it printed on?

Heavyweight matte fine-art paper with pigment inks, made to order in 12×18, 16×24 and 24×36 inches; every size is also offered framed in black or natural wood, with plexiglass and no mat. Colours are matched to the scan, not brightened.

When was The School of Athens painted, and in what medium?

The School of Athens dates from 1509–1511 and was made in fresco; the original measures 500 × 770 cm.

What size works above a sofa or bed?

Across a three-seat sofa or a queen bed, 24×36 is the size that reads as one statement piece; 16×24 suits a narrower wall or a pair. For The School of Athens we'd choose 24×36.

About this design

A museum-exhibition poster of Raphael's The School of Athens — the whole fresco of the philosophers shown uncropped beneath gallery typography. The summit of High Renaissance composition, styled as a blockbuster exhibition print. A gallery-style exhibition poster: a celebrated public-domain artwork shown whole and uncropped beneath original exhibition typography set in-house — printed to order on heavyweight matte fine-art paper. Every size is offered unframed or framed in black or natural wood. Part of the Madten Exhibition Posters Collection. — — — Printed to order and shipped by our production partner, Gelato.

Buy with confidence

The Madten promise

Gallery-grade archival giclée. Rich pigment inks on heavyweight fine-art paper (or gallery-wrapped canvas) — built to last, not a poster-shop print.

Arrives perfect or we reprint it — free. Every piece is made to order; if it shows up damaged or flawed we remake it, no return needed.

Free worldwide shipping. Made & shipped from the facility nearest you — most orders arrive in 4–9 business days.

Secure checkout. Payments handled by Stripe; we never see or store your card.

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