# The Death of Socrates

**Jacques-Louis David** (French, 1748–1825)  
1787  
Oil on canvas  
51 x 77 1/4 in. (129.5 x 196.2 cm)

Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 31.45. [The museum's record](https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/436105).

## About this work

Condemned by Athens for impiety and corrupting the young, the philosopher Socrates reaches for the cup of hemlock while continuing to teach, one finger raised as he speaks of the immortality of the soul. Around him his followers weep and despair; Plato sits at the foot of the bed, turned away, and in the background Socrates’ wife is led out through an archway. Jacques-Louis David exhibited the painting at the Salon of 1787, and its clarity, frieze-like composition and message of principled sacrifice made it a model of Neoclassical painting on the eve of the French Revolution.

_Written by Ochre Editions._

Jacques-Louis David painted this in 1787, aged 39. It is now at The Met in New York.

### How it was made

- **Oil paint.** Pigment ground in a drying oil, usually linseed. It dries slowly, so painters could blend on the canvas, build up thin translucent glazes, and rework a picture over weeks. Canvas replaced wooden panels in the 1500s because it is lighter and can be rolled.

### [Jacques-Louis David](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/jacques-louis-david)

French, 1748–1825; born in Paris; died in Brussels

David was the leading painter of French Neoclassicism. After winning the Prix de Rome he studied antiquity in Italy, and in the 1780s produced severe, moralising history paintings such as The Oath of the Horatii and The Death of Socrates. During the Revolution he was a deputy who voted for the king’s execution and painted The Death of Marat; he later became first painter to Napoleon. After the Bourbon restoration he lived in exile in Brussels, where he died.

_Written by Ochre Editions._

## Facts

- Type: Paintings
- The artist was 39
- Real size: about 51 × 77 in (130 × 196 cm). The original is larger than our largest print, 20 × 30 in, so every print is a reduction.
- Century: 18th century
- Subjects: Socrates, Men, Lyres
- Colour: brown
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/1083.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/1083/1920.jpg
- Giclée reproduction on Hahnemühle Photo Rag: 8 × 10 in $28; 11 × 14 in $38; 12 × 16 in $42; 16 × 20 in $56; 18 × 24 in $68; 20 × 30 in $86
- Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138; 18 × 24 in $164; 20 × 30 in $208
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79; 16 × 20 in $98; 18 × 24 in $118
- Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2; 12 × 16 in $3; 16 × 20 in $3; 18 × 24 in $3; 20 × 30 in $5

Sizes stop where the museum's file would print below 150 pixels per inch. Everything sold is a reproduction, made to order. [Order a print](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/the-death-of-socrates-met-436105).