The contemporary photographer Thomas Struth created a celebrated series of images depicting visitors in front famous works of art and in popular museums like the Louvre in France. Here he photographs tourists in Raphael's great Stanza della Segnatura in the Vatican Palace in Rome, part of the papal apartments that the young artist frescoed in 1508-09 for Pope Julius II, and which includes one of the most well-known images from Renaissance art, the "School of Athens." At the center of Raphael's fresco, the ancient philosophers Plato and Aristotle stand framed by an arcade while a group of other celebrated thinkers and creators spread out around them. Looking at Struth's photograph, it is clear that he is asking us to think about the extent to which tourists really engage with the works they travel to see. Raphael's "School of Athens" is not visible in Struth's photograph but is on the wall to the left of the crowd. How might Struth be commenting on Raphael's fresco through his photograph? Do you think he means the viewer to compare/contrast the photographed scene with Raphael's fresco? Are there similarities between the two compositions that invite this comparison, and what might we understand from the juxtaposition?
I think that Struth's photograph reveals how little time people spend actually viewing great works of art such as the "School of Athens." The people in the small exhibit are crammed together, and seem to be moving through the space, talking to one another, but very few people within the crowd seem to be looking at the works themselves. The scene captured looks more like a social gathering than it does a group of people looking at an art exhibit.
ReplyDeleteI think that a parallel can be drawn between the crown and the "School of Athens". Both the crowd and the fresco contain a lot of figures, and a lot of movement. I also think that the juxtaposition of the two reveals that the figures in the fresco are more important or divine because they are in focus and they are above the crowd.
Good point about how the figures in Raphael's fresco, particularly the figure of Plato, show through their gestures an engagement between the human and the divine realm , whereas the crowd in Struth's photo are lost in the present moment and chaos surrounding them.
DeleteAlthough Struth might not have realized it when taking the photo, his photo has many similarities with "School of Athens". This is apparent in the architecture and surroundings of the images, and also the people's actions. Both pieces show an environment of chaotic learning; there is strong movement as people turn to each other in discussion and a crowded frenzy. On the other hand, there are many contrasting aspects of the pieces. The "School of Athens" is lighter and, even though there is lots of movement, the excitement and discussion of the crowd seems to be more organized as Plato and Aristotle guide the learning.
ReplyDeleteVery true that the chaotic nature of Strutg's crowd highlights the sense of order conveyed by Raphael's composition
DeleteWhile looking at Struth's photo I immediately notice the amount of people that are in the room yet none of them seem to be interacting with one another. Each individual is seemingly doing there own thing and going about their own business. To this end I think that this relates to an idea that is present in Raphael's piece. As in "The School of Athens" there are various men and woman around Aristotle and Plato who are seemingly doing something different compared to the person next to them. In some instances though there are interactions between two people in Raphael's piece thus making them similar in this way. Another thing which I find interesting is how the camera angle that Struth took his photo at makes it look like there are perspective lines following it right to the back in the center of the wood panel between the two windows. This is directly related to Raphael's piece which is known to use perspective perfectly in order to give realism as well as focus the viewers on Aristotle and Plato.
ReplyDeleteHarry makes an interesting point about the compositional viewpoint of Struth's photograph, which does indeed emphasize a receding perspectival space evocative of Raphael's fresco
DeleteStruth's photograph captures several interesting ways of how people interact with art. As said in previous comments, the crowded room reflects the group of people interacting in the "School of Athens." It's also interesting, however, that some of the people are unintentionally copying the gestures of the people in the painting. The photo doesn't always capture faces looking toward the painting, which would normally be expected. Some people are moving away, talking to companions, or even reading about the painting in a guidebook. This action of reading also reflects the interactions of scholars in the painting. This can be seen in the back left of the photograph, where people are pointing, similar to the the philosopher in the center pointing to the sky The photograph is taken with a delayed shutter, allowing moving people's features to blur and imply motion through the room. Struth doesn't include the fresco in his photograph intentionally to put focus on the crowd's reaction. Struth makes the composition of the piece incredibly symmetrical, which is also heavily emphasized the “School of Athens.” By placing the window and only source of light in the room in the middle of the composition, he mimics the painting’s own effect, in order to communicate his meaning. He also positioned the camera to be looking down on the crowd, as if to prevent the viewer from entering the scene and being surrounded by it, but instead to observe it just as the crowd is observing the painting. Through the details he chooses to include, Struth illustrates his meaning to parallel the modern world of learning and art with the classical era of Greek revival and philosophy.
ReplyDeleteVery thoughtful analysis, Haley! It is quite interesting how various figures in the photograph read or interact in ways that recall Raphael's fresco, which Struth deliberately does not include in the picture. So the comparison between the School of Athens and the modern visitors is something that only someone who has outside knowledge of the whole Stanza's program can fully appreciate
DeleteStruth's photograph depicts a busy array of people with each person going his or her own separate way. Struth's message could be that there is no clear way to act within the presence of art - one can stop and admire or continue moving throughout the space. Although the composition is busier, his photograph still conveys the idea of education through art. Learning is occurring in both, showing just how similar the two are. I think that Struth wants the viewer to compare the works of art while also noting the differences (lighting, movement vs. stationary poses, architecture, depth of figures) due to a change in time period. Time, however, does not change the art. The philosophers/great thinkers from Raphael's fresco are learning from their surrounding (hence the title "School of Athens") just as the people in Struth's photograph are broadening their horizons through immersing themselves in a different culture full of great art.
ReplyDeleteExactly, Struth is extremely interested in what happens before works of art, how visitors engage with them, and what it means to think about the relevance of canonical works of art from the past in the present.
DeleteStruth's photograph reveals the audience's lack of interest in the exhibition. Very few people are actually examining the pieces and appreciating the work itself. This is similar to Raphael's piece. In "The School of Athens" there are a number of men and woman around Aristotle and Plato who are in a different position than the person next to them. There is also little interaction between the people. However, the photograph is much darker and more disorganized than the painting.
ReplyDeleteInteresting point about the self-absorption of the individuals in the crowd. In Raphael's fresco, a few groups are interacting but the disorganized mob in Sturth's photo doesn't really allow for thoughtful engagement
DeleteThe most profound similarity between Thomas Struth's photograph and Raphael's "School of Athens" is how consumed people are in their own lives to pay attention to their surroundings. In both instances, the crowd is in the midst of human intellect and innovational ideas. In the photograph, the crowd seems to be rushing around and not taking the time needed to fully view and analyze the beautiful works of art on the walls around them. Then again in the "School of Athens", these two extremely learned people are discussing their ideas and few have actually stopped to listen. The compositions of these pieces share the chaotic positions of people with their heads turned here and there. In both pictures, the crowd is encircled in an architecturally beautiful and magnificent building, yet very few have stopped to notice.
ReplyDeleteJulia makes a really interesting point about how both crowds are so absorbed in their activities that they don't really engage with the magnificent space around them. In Raphael's fresco, the architectural space emphasizes the ideal order of the intellectual activities it frames, but Struth creates more of a contrast between the surroundings and the crowd's failure to fully engage with Raphael's masterworks.
DeleteFrom Maia Zalik:
ReplyDeleteI think there is a similarity between the photograph and Raphael’s “School of Athens” in that both depict socialization and say something about the interaction between people and art. Just as how the visitors at the museum are not fully focused on the masterpieces, the figures in the “School of Athens” are not acknowledging the great architecture and works around them. In both pieces, great art is used as a backdrop for the people. Furthermore, in Struth’s photograph, the central window mimics the central archway in the “School of Athens.” This presents the art museum as being one of modern society’s central areas for thought and discussion, just like the school of Athens was in its day.
Maia is absolutely right that Struth is commenting on the role of the art museum or monument as an institution for learning in contemporary society. Nice point.
DeleteIn both works, there is a sort of chaos among the crowds, though in "School of Athens" viewers get the sense that there is an order to the chaos. In the painting, the people nearest Plato and Aristotle are paying attention to these two figures just as the people nearest the paintings in the photograph are paying attention. However, everyone else in both works are absorbed by their own lives. These works show human preoccupation and self-absorption, as people only pay attention to what is immediately in front of them.
ReplyDeleteThis is a nice summary of the previous points made here -- the more ordered nature of the "School of Athens" even despite the number of figures distinguishes Raphael's composition for the crowd who views it in Struth's photograph
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