On-line gallery
- Reference number
- P01682
- Author
- Rubens, Peter Paul (Flemish)
- Title
- Democritus, the Laughing Philosopher
- Chronology
- 1636-1638
- Technique
- Support
- Measures
- 179 cm x 66 cm
- School
- Theme
- Shown
- No
- Entrance
- COLECCION REAL
- Procedence
- Royal Collection
Democritus of Abdera (460-370 B.C.)
is the pictorial pendant of
Heraclitus (P1680) as well as his
philosophical counterpoint. Wearing
bright colors, he laughs
sarcastically while contemplating a
globe of the Earth, alluding to his
concept of the comic meaning of
life. During the Modern Age, this
was interpreted on the basis of
Christian precepts as a message
alluding to the vanity of earthly
life.
This work was made for the Torre de
la Parada, a small royal palace
near Madrid, where it hung between
windows or doors. It was often
though to be a portrait of a
geographer.
