c. 1650
Oil on canvas, 142 x 133 cm
Fondazione Querini Stampalia, Venice
Vivid, violent colours and excited gestures lend solemnity to the scene. The philosopher's heroic austerity is captured in his vigorous torso, standing out against the symbols of his moral asceticism> the barrel he has chosen to live in and the lamp he uses to seek out a virtuous man.
