The School of Athens fresco, which is one of Raphael’s most famous works, was completed to decorate the Stanza della Segnatura commission by the Pope.

Raphael included the likeness of Michelangelo himself in the painting, as the philosopher Heraclitus. Commentators have suggested that nearly great Greek philosopher can be found within the painting, but determining which are depicted is difficult, since Raphael made no designations outside possible likenesses, and no contemporary documents explain the painting.