Raphael's 'School of Athens' is widely regarded as being his masterpiece, first painted on the walls of the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican between 1509 and 1511. The painting depicts exclusively men from Italian historical and philosophical groups, figures such as Plato, Socrates, and Aristotle. It was widely celebrated for it's execution of perspective in frame and space, a concept that was difficult for other pre-Renaissance era painting masters.
