Modeled closely after School of Athens by Raphael, I used members of the neighborhood and the adjoining church to act as models in the painting. As often as possible they mimicked the poses in Raphael’s original.

In 2008 I wasn’t in the habit of using Photoshop for much other than resizing reference photos. My designs were painted by hand at 1/12 scale.

My 2008 design next to its 1511 inspiration.

Not only did I not use any Photoshop in 2008, I also hadn’t begun projecting my design as a transfer method yet. For this project, I gridded each 5’ x 5’ sheet of polytab with a 1’ x 1’ grid and transferred the design via the grid system.

I tinted my primer with Venetian Red. I transferred the drawing with white conte crayon.

Community Paint Day.

Studio Detail.

Studio Detail.

Detail.

I had two large, simultaneous projects in the summer of 2008. I burnt the candle at both ends.

This project was partially funded by the Philadelphia Prison System. That being the case, a group of inmates at Graterford Prison were involved in discussing the design of the project. And members of Mural Arts Philadelphia’s Re-Entry Program were hired as assistants. The three figures ascending the steps in the foreground are three recently released individuals. Their ascension up the steps into the crowd is a metaphor for their re-entry into their communities.

This is the late pastor, Carmine DiBiase. He and his son took up the roles of Plato and Aristotle in the mural. He passed away in 2017, 9 years after this picture was taken. He was 96.