Painted during the Renaissance, The School of Athens resonates with its related period’s architectural ideals of renewal of antiquity, proportion as beauty, and architecture as a science. The trompe l’oiel recalls Ancient Greece, and, although the Renaissance represents the rebirth of Roman thought, the central figures of Plato and Aristotle represent the return to thought, reason, and the work of Vitruvius. This is enforced by the use of linear perspective, geometric architecture, and both figural and architectural proportion. The composition of the image is balanced with central figures and central arches, and the stairs add a layer of depth and grandeur. The School of Athens itself is a trompe l’oeil in the Vatican, emphasizing the connection between Renaissance architecture and its contextual arts.