The Death of Socrates

starting with my essay on The Death of Socrates painting by Jean-Louis David. Could be used for philosophy or art classes. I'll follow up with the grade when i get it back (prob an A... just sayin)


The Death of Socrates was painted in 1787, by a French painter named Jacques-Louis David. It is considered to be one of the best works ever done by David. The painting depicts one of Socrates’ final moments before he drinks the Hemlock and ultimately dies as a result. Socrates was brought up on charges of speaking out against the beliefs of Athens and corrupting the minds of the youth.
Socrates’ punishment was to either denounce his philosophical beliefs, or death by way of ingesting Hemlock. Being a strong believer in both his philosophies and stance on death, lead Socrates to choose the Hemlock. Standing over his bed are his followers, who are visibly distressed over the situation. Directly by Socrates’ bedside is his friend and follower Crito. Crito has his arm extended and is touching Socrates’ leg. This may be an attempt to comfort Socrates, but more likely Crito is trying to persuade Socrates to amend his decision to die, rather than be exiled. At the foot of his bed sits Plato. Plato has his arms and legs crossed and is looking down. He appears to be upset but looks more disappointed than hysterical. I feel there are several reasons for this: Plato was a devoted friend, student, and follower of Socrates beliefs. I think he appears more disappointed than anything, due to the realization that he is losing a great friend; but, being a true follower of Socrates’ philosophical beliefs, he knows there is no changing Socrates’ mind and trusts the fate that Socrates has chosen for himself. On his bed, Socrates has a shackle that he has been released from. This seems to be a symbolic implication of the choice he had over his own fate. He is free to walk away at any time. Lastly, Socrates himself is reaching with his right hand for the Hemlock chalice, while pointing to the sky with his left hand. The former gesture suggests that, by him reaching for the chalice from one of his followers, Socrates openly and willingly accepts his decision and therefore his death. The latter gesture is a bit more open to interpretation. Being given the back story and the history of Socrates as a philosopher, one interpretation stands above the others. Socrates may be pointing to the sky as a final lesson to his followers, as well as attempting to console their grief in his death. Socrates was a strong believer in another existence beyond death. He may be explaining that there is something bigger than the current situation they find themselves in, including the solitary physical state that his followers know. Socrates is trying to ensure his followers of this and explain as to why he is so confident in dying for his beliefs.
The Death of Socrates was painted in France during a very tumultuous time for the country. In 1787 France had reached its breaking point and a revolution was eminent. This revolution would come a year later in the form of the historic Great French Revolution. This was a time when Parisians began to speak out against the absolute monarch that had ruled for centuries and were willing to die for their beliefs and desires to insight change. Jacques-Louis David knew well the story of Socrates and likened it to his countries current political situation. Socrates would represent the French resistance in the sense of how strongly he felt about his beliefs, his absolute confidence in his decisions, and his willingness to die for both. The similarities between the situation in which Socrates is portrayed in the painting and the political situation of France at the time David painted The Death of Socrates are uncanny. By reviving the story of Socrates, Jacques-Louis David was giving French people something to identify with, as well as giving a face to the revolution.
Death is a prevalent theme in this painting. Socrates believed there to be an existence after death. He believed that the great minds of the past all were gathered and conversed over the various plights of man-kind. His acceptance of death as a result of his philosophical beliefs is made clear in the painting by his unusually calm demeanor given the situation he finds himself in, as well as his fearless reach for the chalice of hemlock. It is widely believed throughout the philosophical community that “The unexamined life is not worth living.” Socrates may have shared this belief, and knowing he would no longer be able to examine life as he knew it if he chose exile, chose to die. Philosophy has been defined as the art of learning how to die well. Socrates, being a well-known philosopher and strong in his beliefs may have felt he had accomplished all that was possible for this life. This would account for the confidence in his decision to leave this world and move onto the next plane of existence.
One very important element of this painting is the colors used. The colors chosen by Jacques-Louis David serve to set the tone for the painting and insight certain feelings within the viewer. Socrates and his crew are painted in a dark dungeon-esque room. All the walls are solid grey, and the only source of light appears to be from a window above and out of view of the painting. The immense amount of grey gives the painting a feeling of dread and solitude. The brightest part of the painting is Socrates, his bed, and his followers; making them the focal point of the scene. His followers are adorned in brightly colored robes. He himself is wearing a white robe. Light and dark colors are often associated with good and evil respectively. Being so brightly colored, Socrates followers can be seen as good and pure in an evil setting. The brightly colored robes give life to the painting and may be symbolic of the word of Socrates, even in death, being passed to future generations through his followers. Socrates’ white robe makes him appear almost prophetic and may be a tribute to his impending martyrdom.
The Death of Socrates by Jacques-Louis David is a timeless work of art. The detail, colors, and symmetry are all indicative of an extremely talented artist. I feel David did the revolutionists a great justice by calling attention to the story of Socrates at the time he did. His painting served as a reminder that people have been fighting for their beliefs throughout history. This is exactly what the people of France needed to spark a revolution. I was personally impressed by the immense size of the painting. Given the incredible detail for its size, this painting must have taken many painstaking hours to complete. Also, the time in at which David decided to breathe life back into the story of Socrates was ingenious. His painting served as a symbol of standing up for your beliefs even in the face of death. This revival came at a time when his fellow countrymen needed it most. Being presented with these facts has forced me to view David as a brilliant and respected artist, whose work should be celebrated. His amazing artistic ability and fearlessness to create work that could possibly insight a revolution and ultimately lead to his imprisonment or death should be considered points of pride and viewed with the utmost adoration. I did not have extra time to wander around the museum, but after examining the intricacies of this painting and learning the story behind it, I realized that probably every work of art there has a similarly interesting story behind it. I will definitely be going back in the future to admire these amazing artistic feats and to learn their stories.