The Death of Socrates

         The Death of Socrates, painted by Jaques- Luis David in 1787, is a piece that conforms to the unnatural death theme. This painting displays the exact moment where Socrates is handed the Hemlock for him to drink, as his sentence, after being proven guilty for his charge of “Corrupting the minds of the youth” by telling the youth that what they were being taught in school was wrong and for “Not believing in the gods of the state."  It seems as though the people around Socrates do not want him to die.  This is a harmonious portrayal, shown by a few key elements. The first is that the focus is Socrates and the goblet of Hemlock.  The second is that the painting is balanced around the focus. If you count the number of people on each side of Socrates and the goblet, you will find that he has six on each side, with two - one on each side- interacting with him. The death in this case is Hemlock

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