Alcibiades among the Hetaerae

Cosroe Dusi · 1850
Oil on canvas
Trieste, Italy - Museo Civico Revoltella
LDA · XXXI · MMXXV

Source
Book · La Pittura di Storia dell’Ottocento Italiano di Fortunato Bellonzi · Fratelli Fabbri Editori · 1967 · p. 50

This painting depicts the Athenian statesman Alcibiades in the company of hetaerae, courtesans of high social and cultural standing in classical Greece. The arrival of Socrates interrupts the scene, his gesture identifying a moment of moral confrontation. Alcibiades is shown partially undressed, while the women surrounding him evoke the intellectual and social environment of elite companionship (of the time). The architectural setting and objects on the table reinforce the association with classical Athens and its culture of rhetoric, philosophy and politics.

Reposting welcome; please credit Libreria d’Arte - Studio Soli.

Detail
Musical instruments and incense - symbols of cultured leisure in classical Athens

Detail
Alcibiades partially draped in red - a visual marker of status, youth and political ambition

Detail
The gesture of Socrates - the moment of intervention and recall to civic duty