Art Captions

Author notes

0012. The Death of Socrates

CornTown

on Feb. 5, 2010

By Jacques-Louis David
Circa. 1787.
Neoclassicism

With the discovery of Pompei in the late 18th century, there was a great revival in the study and creation of classical art, hence the name neoclassicism. David is perhaps the most famous of all Neoclassical painters and The death of Socrates is a perfect example of the style. Characters are placed in the foreground, almost like watching them from a Greek stage. At the same time, the scene takes traits from religious paintings. Here, Socrates dies much in the same way as Jesus, in order to give the world knowledge. Beneath him are Plato and Crito who watch him die and eventually spread Socrates words through their own writing much like the Matthew, John, Luke, and Mark.