Public sale records, not an appraisal

How much is The School of Athens worth?

The School of Athens is not for sale: it is painted in the Apostolic Palace, Vatican Museums, Vatican City, so it has no market price. The closest guide is Raphael's highest documented sale: $47.9 million for Head of an Apostle, black chalk study for the Transfiguration, at Sotheby's London in 2012. Prints and posters of it usually sell for $5–$250, and hand-painted copies for $100–$800.

Artist: Raphael
Date: 1511
Medium: Fresco
Held by: Apostolic Palace, Vatican Museums, Vatican City

Raphael's record$47.9MHead of an Apostle, black chalk study for the Transfiguration · 2012

Own a print or copy of The School of Athens?

Most copies of The School of Athens in homes are prints, posters or hand-painted copies. They sell as decorative pieces, not as Raphael's work. These are the resale ranges Art Scanner's value estimate starts from.

Poster or unframed print$5–$60

Framed decorative or museum-shop print$40–$250

Large framed archival print$150–$800

Hand-painted copy$100–$800

An oil copy painted by hand, often sold as decor

Resale value in US dollars on a log scale: what copies actually sell for second-hand, not retail.

Dots under a magnifier

A regular grid of tiny coloured dots means a print, however old the frame looks.

Strokes that match the picture

Raised brushstrokes that follow the image mean a hand-painted copy. A few strokes over a flat print are added texture.

Labels on the back

Publisher, framer or gallery labels often say exactly what it is and when it was made.

Step by step: how to tell if a painting is valuable. Or scan it with Art Scanner: it checks original or print from the photo and gives a value range for the object you own.

About the painting

The School of Athens is a fresco by the Italian Renaissance artist Raphael. It was painted between 1509 and 1511 as part of a commission by Pope Julius II to decorate the rooms now called the Stanze di Raffaello in the Apostolic Palace in Vatican City.

More on the artist: the most expensive Raphael ever sold, and where the famous ones hang.

Raphael next to other famous artists

Each artist's highest documented sale, from the same research. Raphael: $47.9 million for Head of an Apostle, black chalk study for the Transfiguration, in 2012.

Renoir$78.1MBal du moulin de la Galette · 1990
Rubens$76.7MMassacre of the Innocents · 2002
Manet$65.1MLe Printemps · 2014
Caillebotte$53MJeune homme à sa fenêtre · 2021
Raphael$47.9MHead of an Apostle, black chalk study for the Transfiguration · 2012
Turner$47.4MRome, from Mount Aventine · 2014
Rousseau$43.5MLes Flamants · 2023
Degas$41.6MPetite danseuse de quatorze ans · 2022
Constable$35.2MThe Lock · 2012

Nominal US dollars as reported at the time of sale, buyer's premium included where the source includes it.

Why it has no price

The School of Athens is painted in the Apostolic Palace, Vatican Museums, Vatican City. Works in public collections are not sold, so no one can put a market price on them. Sale records of other works by the same artist are the closest guide to what it would fetch.

Scan it, see the price tag

Point Art Scanner at a famous painting and it names the work and shows its sale record or the artist's, with the museum that holds it. Painted something yourself? Try the free pricing calculator.

Art Scanner result for the Mona Lisa with its $100M insured value tag — The Mona Lisa in Art Scanner: insured value $100M, Musée du Louvre, 1962

Questions

How much is The School of Athens worth?

The School of Athens is not for sale: it is painted in the Apostolic Palace, Vatican Museums, Vatican City, so it has no market price. The closest guide is Raphael's highest documented sale: $47.9 million for Head of an Apostle, black chalk study for the Transfiguration, at Sotheby's London in 2012. Prints and posters of it usually sell for $5–$250, and hand-painted copies for $100–$800.

How much is a print of The School of Athens worth?

Most prints and posters of The School of Athens sell for $5–$250, with framed ones at the top of that range, and hand-painted copies for $100–$800. They are priced as decorative pieces, not as Raphael's work.

Is The School of Athens for sale?

No. It is painted in the Apostolic Palace, Vatican Museums, Vatican City. Works in public collections are not sold, so they have no market price.

What is Raphael's most expensive work?

Head of an Apostle, black chalk study for the Transfiguration, which sold for $47.9 million at Sotheby's London in 2012. Prices are nominal US dollars as reported at the time.

Where is The School of Athens?

The School of Athens (1511, fresco) is painted in the Apostolic Palace, Vatican Museums, Vatican City.