The Parnassus, from the Stanza delle Segnatura (detail) 1511

Raphael painted this detail of the Parnassus fresco, part of the Stanza della Segnatura, in the early 16th century in the Vatican. The figures are depicted with a gentle sensuality and a sophisticated intellectualism, in line with the humanist ideals of the Renaissance. Yet, if we look closer at the figures of the muses, we may ask, who is being invited to this party of intellectual life? The muses, while diverse in their attributes, are uniformly white and conform to a classical standard of beauty. This reflects the Renaissance’s complicated relationship with antiquity. While artists like Raphael sought to revive classical forms, they also inherited its exclusions. "Painting," Raphael once noted, "is a science that… concerns all the forms of all of creation". Through its beauty and harmony, this fresco invites us to reflect on who has historically been included in the artistic and intellectual canons, and whose voices have been marginalized.