All three laurel-crowned figures are seated and wearing Greek tunics drawn with girdles at the waist. The attributes of the central figure, a scroll across her lap and dividers in her right hand, imply that she represents Architecture. To her right, Painting holds a brush and palette, and on the left, Sculpture has a mallet. Painting casually rests her right arm on a bust of Raphael, and Sculpture leans on a bearded classical bust, perhaps the head of Zeus by Phidias. All five lunettes contain putti in very high relief. They are engaged in activities connected with the so-called decorative or applied arts, determinedly illustrating the academy’s inclusion of an art school in the new building.