ipl-logo

Jacques Louis David Essay

1201 Words5 Pages

Painted in France, Paris in the style of Neo-Classicism, Jacques Louis David’s The Death of Socrates is one of the better-known examples of art produced by this artist of wide-range styles. Jacques Louis David painted probably one of his most famous paintings in art history “The Death of Socrates" in 1787, an art composition in its simplest form. In this painting, completed in 1787 as an oil on canvas, It has a height of 51 inches, and a length of 77 ¼ inches. The Death of Socrates by Jacques Louis David is a perfect example of a neoclassical painter using a famous work of literature, in this case Plato’s Phaedo, as his source of inspiration. The painting portrays 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. An analysis of the painting’s historical …show more content…

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 (“The Death of Socrates - Jacques-Louis

Show More
Related

  • How Did Socrates Corrupt Greek Government

    493 Words  | 2 Pages

    Socrates died yesterday at the age of 71 when he was executed because of his religious beliefs. He was known by many people in Greece and was well liked by some as well as hated amongst crowds of people. His views on politics turned many people against him including the Athenian government. Socrates was sentenced to death because he refused to recognize the gods and the government thought he sought to corrupt the youth by teaching them to ask questions to find the answers. The Socratic method is a form of discussion when people ask questions to stimulate thinking and discovering people’s ideas, and his thoughts got him in a lot of trouble.

    Read More

  • The Crito Essay

    1068 Words  | 5 Pages

    The awnser to this question lies my opinion also on how Socrates made his choice. Take for instance a murderer is punished to death and guilty of his crimes, he should be punished not only to be just and reprimand him for his actions, but also to protect the lives of other people from getting hurt. In Socrates situation, he is unjustly accused of corrupting the youth and failing to acknowledge the gods his city acknowledged. This in opinioin is not only a real crime but the crime even if he truly committed it does not match the punishment. To conclude, Socrates in some peoples eyes may seem that the right thing for him to do is to escape and save his own life, even though he would be ricking the the lives of his friends and family and inevitably be caught later on down the road the face once again the same situation.

    Read More

  • Good Speech Daniel Rhetorical Analysis

    96 Words  | 1 Pages

    Good evening Daniel, Socrates believed if he was sentenced to death, that would mean that the jury felt that he did something immoral or evil. He believed that it showed had done some kind of wrongdoing or evil. Although his confidence was innocence. He accepted what punishment laid before him because he believed that he had done nothing wrong. He refused to give up his devotion to his philosophy.

    Read More

  • Who Was Socrates In Plato's Apology

    583 Words  | 3 Pages

    His age is another notable factor. The text mentioned that Socrates was a seventy-year-old man. He was already approaching the end of his life and preferred to die for philosophy than to just die an ordinary death. This is magnified by his ideas about death.

    Read More

  • Death As Depicted In Socrates's Speech 'Apology'

    1312 Words  | 6 Pages

    What Socrates tries to convey to Athenians in his speech “Apology” other than “an unexamined life is not worth living” is that one should never give up one’s own philosophy for any reason, even though the reason is death. Socrates wanted his followers to know that death should not be feared. Socrates knows he is going to die, and he still continues his beliefs in the trial anyway. Socrates wants his followers to stick to what they believe in. Socrates pretty much has all of Athens against him and yet he continues on and sends a strong message to his followers.

    Read More

  • The Corruption Of Socrates In Plato's Apology

    560 Words  | 3 Pages

    Socrates was a man that was in search of the truth about wisdom. However, it became more then just a search when it brought him to trail of accusations. As a philosopher Socrates was known to overdrawn ideas and to frustrate anyone he was talking to. He is always in search of a better idea and for anyone who has experienced Socrates could assume he is making up his own actualities. This becomes evident in “ Apology” written by Plato, where Socrates was brought in charges for corrupting the minds of the youth and not believing in the Gods.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Socrates: Four Dialogues, By Plato

    1595 Words  | 7 Pages

    He is given the opportunity to choose an escape, and live his life never being able to return back to Athens. He completely opposes the idea and decides to live out the consequences of his trial, ultimately dying. Socrates made it his mission to live a virtuous life, which he did, right to his death. To life a virtuous life it would have gone against his own belief if he did escape his conviction, making this aspect very important in his philosophy. “To do so is right, and one must not give way or retreat or leave one’s post, but both in war and in courts and everywhere else, one must obey the commands of one’s city and country, or persuade as the nature of justice.

    Read More

  • Socrates Vs Phaedo

    371 Words  | 2 Pages

    There are multiple emotions that are shown by people when a loved one, friend, or family dies. The most common emotions are thoroughly shown in the painting The Death of Socrates by David and “The Death Scene” from The Phaedo by Plato. Although they bear some minor differences, the similarities in the way they express the emotions between The Death of Socrates by David and “The Death Scene” from The Phaedo by Plato are evident. The emotion that is thoroughly shown throughout both works is sadness.

    Read More

  • Arguments For Plato's Apology

    376 Words  | 2 Pages

    No matter which path death is, death is a gain. One will either be a peaceful sleep, or a journey to another world filled with intelligent people and knowledge. He had support to his theory, but only talked about conversing with people from the past. The apology is repetitive in the last two paragraphs because Socrates desired to talk to all these different people. He did not clarify as to why living on Earth was cruel and that death was the only answer.

    Read More

  • Socrates Apology Analysis

    1070 Words  | 5 Pages

    One of the charges brought against him was corrupting the youth of Athens. Accordingly to the words of those who complained at

    Read More

  • Fear Of Death In Plato's Apology

    1115 Words  | 5 Pages

    “…if I disobeyed the oracle because I was afraid of death: then I should be fancying that I was wise when I was not wise. For this fear of death is indeed the pretence of wisdom, and not real wisdom, being the appearance of the unknown: since no one knows whether death, which they in their fear apprehend to be the greatest evil, may not be the greatest good” (Apology, 29a-29b). This potent statement not only highlights Socrates’ wisdom, it effectively makes use of his belief that he is wise because he knows nothing. By saying that he knows nothing of the afterlife, it gives him the reason to illustrate to his audience that he cannot fear what he does not know.

    Read More

  • Death Of Socrates Ethos Pathos Logos

    260 Words  | 2 Pages

    The author of Death of Socrates is by a greek philosopher, Plato. This type of entry can be a type of journal or story. The intended audience for Death of Socrates are those learning about Greece, or those interested in Socrates. This story can infer to readers that the main purpose is to inform readers of Socrates’ brave acceptance towards his death punishment. Plato wants readers to know if Socrates deserved the death penalty for his teachings.

    Read More

  • Socrates: A Threat To The Athenian Society

    912 Words  | 4 Pages

    Making enemies and becoming the topic of conversation, the Athenians began to view Socrates as a threat to their beliefs and way of life and sought to end it. In order to end this, Socrates was accused of blasphemy (Mod1SlideC7). Socrates’s accusers took him to court and after Socrates did not play their game by asking to be sent into exile, and in the end, he was sentenced to death. After reading the textbook and Plato’s writing influenced by Socrates, I realized that in the period of his life Socrates was indeed truly a threat to the Athens society, because he looked for answers that no one else bothered to find which challenged their culture.

    Read More

  • Jacques David Death Of Socrates Analysis

    140 Words  | 1 Pages

    I decided to choose Jacques Louis David’s The Death of Socrates because the image being displayed showcases the hard decisions one must make to be true to oneself. In David’s painting you can clearly see the struggle that the people around Socrates have with his decision to die. They are all in some form of mourning and some aren’t even looking at him. Socrates has decided to be honest with his beliefs and not give into the desires of the people that are against him. Before he drinks what will cause his death he is giving his last speech, which can be seen in the way that he is raising his finger in air as if to bring attention to what he is saying.

    Read More

  • Socrates Case Study

    1849 Words  | 8 Pages

    1. Briefly describe some (at least four) aspects of Greek culture prior to and at the time of Socrates and Plato. Socrates and Plato were an oral culture. During the time of Plato and Socrates, they were making literacy culture because Socrates and Plato had begun using paper and started writing a lot of things down. They had to speak on everything they experience and wants to keep around, so Plato and Socrates told a lot of stories.

    Read More

More about Jacques Louis David Essay

Open Document