Top Five Philosophical Works of Art

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1. “The Death of Socrates” “The Death of Socrates” was created in 1787 by French painter Jacques-Louis David. When Socrates faced the charges of inventing new gods, not those of the state and corrupting the youth, he was sentenced to death by hemlock poisoning. David’s painting depicts Socrates in prison making one final argument before drinking the poison. Socrates is surrounded by twelve friends and fellow philosophers, mimicking Jesus’ twelve disciples in “The Last Supper.” "The Death of Socrates" is is part of the permanent collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City.

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2. “The School of Athens” “The School of Athens” is a fresco painted by Italian renaissance artist Raphael between 1509 and 1511. This painting depicts Plato and Aristotle at the center with multiple philosophers surrounding them. While Raphael never explicitly made a distinction as to whom these scattered philosophers were, people have pointed them out, like Pythagoras, Heraclitus and Hypatia. Raphael beautifully depicts the turning point of Western philosophy and all the great minds that contributed to it. “The School of Athens” is in the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican, Rome. 

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3. “The Treachery of Images” “The Treachery of Images” was painted by Rene Magritte in 1929. The painting depicts a pipe with the words underneath "Ceci n'est pas une pipe" which translate from French to "This is not a pipe.” Magritte was inspired by Plato’s "Divided Line” where images are at the bottom of the chart. There is also an existentialist nature where what we perceive, noumena, is not always what is actually there. “The Treachery of Images” is currently in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

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4. “The Scream” “The Scream” was painted by Norwegian artist Edvard Munch in 1893. It is the second most famous image in art history following the “Mona Lisa.” “The Scream” is an existentialist painting depicting what Jean-Paul Sartre would call angst. Angst is the negative feeling that arises in people when they realize their own humanity and responsibility. In Munch’s diary he describes walking along a road with two friends and feeling a gust of melancholy where he saw the sky turn ‘bloody red' and thus painted “The Scream.” The first version of “The Scream” is in the National Gallery of Norway in Oslo.

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5. “Diogenes” “Diogenes” was painted in 1860 by Jean Leon Gerome. Diogenes is depicted living in the streets, surrounded by four dog companions. Diogenes is one of the founders of Cynic philosophy. He rejected society and lived in the street, thus came his nickname, “The Dog.” He slept in a large ceramic jar which is shown in Gerome’s painting. While he is a controversial philosopher, he was the first to use the word “cosmopolitan” when he said “I am a citizen of the world (cosmopolites)”. Many people to this day agree with Diogenes’ way of life and his distaste for corruption. Gerome’s painting is currently in The Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.