Public domain
The Sleeping Philosopher Democritus
From the collection of Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
Amidst antique fragments, animal skulls, and half-dead trees, the ancient philosopher Democritus of Abdera sleeps. Next to him stand an oil lamp and a celestial globe. He sits in the traditional pose of the personification of sleep and night: arm bent over the head. With an inscription borrowed from the opening of an ode to Horace: Integer vitae scelerisque purus (Hor: Lib. I. Od: 22), which refers to an upright life, free from sin.
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam’s own descriptionSubjects
Credit lineDe slapende filosoof Democritus. 1775. Giovanni David. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. Public domain.
