The Parnassus

The Parnassus is a painting by the Italian renaissance artist Raphael. Pope Julius II commissioned Raphael to decorate with frescoes the rooms that are now known as the Stanze di Raffaello, in the Palace of the Vatican. It is located in the Stanza della segnatura, the first room that Raphael decorated, that portrays the four areas of human knowledge: philosophy, religion, poetry and law. The Parnassus represents poetry, ancient and Renaissance poets are centered around Apollo, who is seated on top of Mount Helicon, and nine muses. Apollo, along with Calliope, the muse of epic poetry, inspired... poets. Two of the muses in the frescoe are reminscent of Michaelangelo's Creation of Adam, Euterpe and the named Sappho. The window below the frescoe Parnassus frames the view of Mons Vaticanus, believed to be sacred to Apollo. Humanists, such as Biondo, Vegio, and Albertini, refer to the ancient-sun god of the Vatican. It was painted in 1511 as the third part, after La disputa and The School of Athens. The fresco shows the mythological Mount Parnassus where Apollo resides. He is surrounded by the nine muses, nine poets from antiquity, and nine contemporary poets.
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