| Democritus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | Agostino Carracci |
| Year | c. 1596 |
| Medium | oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 88.5 cm× 66 cm(34.8 in× 26 in) |
| Location | Museo di Capodimonte, Naples |
Democritus is an oil on canvas painting by the Italian painter Agostino Carracci, from c. 1596. It depicts the ancient Greek philosopher Democritus. It is held in the Museo di Capodimonte, in Naples. [1]
Democritus was a usual subject for paintings of Ancient Greece philosophers in the 16th and 17th centuries. [2] This depiction shows his humouristic view of human nature. He appears in the painting smiling and pointing to the viewer, while wearing fancy clothing, including a pelt made of lynx's fur, in accordance with his beliefs in the false superiority of man over animals. [3] At the same time he also points to himself like showing that he also shares the same condition as the viewer. Agostino reputation as the most cultivated of the Carracci, with great knowledge on geography, biology and philosophy, seems to be demonstrated by this portrait. He possibly knew Democritus from the work of Plutarch, the Moralia . This painting is believed to have been made when Agostino was collaborating with his brother Annibale in the decoration of the Palazzo Farnese, in Rome. [4] [5]
Ronald Huebert and David McNeil state that the painting "displays an impish humour, notably expressed by the philosopher's hands." [6]
Agostino Carracci was an Italian painter, printmaker, tapestry designer, and art teacher. He was, together with his brother, Annibale Carracci, and cousin, Ludovico Carracci, one of the founders of the Accademia degli Incamminati in Bologna. Intended to devise alternatives to the Mannerist style favored in the preceding decades, this teaching academy helped propel painters of the School of Bologna to prominence.
Annibale Carracci was an Italian painter and instructor, active in Bologna and later in Rome. Along with his brother and cousin, Annibale was one of the progenitors, if not founders of a leading strand of the Baroque style, borrowing from styles from both north and south of their native city, and aspiring for a return to classical monumentality, but adding a more vital dynamism. Painters working under Annibale at the gallery of the Palazzo Farnese would be highly influential in Roman painting for decades.
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The Mystic Marriage of St Catherine is a c.1585 oil on canvas painting by Annibale Carracci, now in the Gallerie Nazionali di Capodimonte in Naples, Italy. The composition and sfumato effect owe much to Corregio, particularly the latter's painting of the same subject now in the Louvre.
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Portrait of Cardinal Alessandro Farnese is a c. 1545 – 46 oil on canvas three-quarter-length portrait of Alessandro Farnese the Younger (1520-1589) by Titian, now in the Museo nazionale di Capodimonte in Naples.
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