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Oil Painting Replica Diogenes, 1860 by Jean Léon Gérôme (1824-1904, France) | WahooArt.com
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The French artist and academic Jean Léon Gérôme, was one of the most prominent artists and perhaps the most recognizable artist of his time and was an influential figure in the Paris art sphere. He had mastered his technical skill which is displayed in his beautiful painting of Diogenes. The painting will only make sense if the viewer is familiar with this philosophical figure. Here, Diogenes is sitting in his earthenware pot holding a lit lamp in broad daylight. Around him are dogs and behind him is probably Sinope, the colony that Diogenes lived in. He was an unconventional philosopher who made poverty into a virtue and was known for his dog-like behaviour as he praised dogs for their virtue. He lived humans lived an artificial life, and complicate it further unlike dogs who are instinctive and know who is their friend or enemy, whereas humans would dupe their friends and enemies alike. The lamp is a reference to one of the philosophical stunts that he had become notorious for, he would walk on the streets with a lit lamp during the day claiming he was looking for a man or an honest man. Gérôme paints this figure in a style that is now known as Academicism.
Jean Léon Gérôme
Jean Léon Gérôme
Oil On Canvas
Oil On Canvas