Page 25 - Revolution Republique Empire Restauration
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attended symposia, drinking parties that combined of courtesans. It is true that he advised moderation,
political and philosophical discourse, often attended and would have disapproved of too much time being
by the most influential and powerful citizens in wasted on sex, but that very moderation would have
Athens. Several ancient authors state that Aspasia, prevented him from becoming enraged at such mis-
common-law wife of Pericles, and herself a hetaira, conduct. It is more likely, that Regnault was project-
as noted in the Symposium, operated a house of cour- ing his own morality onto the subject and shows us a
tesans, the most illustrious in Athens.There, she edu- wise teacher angrily dragging his foolish pupil from
cated young women (Plutarch, Life of Pericles, 24.3), a a woman’s seductive, but corrupting arms. The fact
fact that no doubt would have threatened traditional that Regnault added two semi-nude female figures in
Athenian gender roles. Aspasia was acknowledged by his later version, to imply that Alclibiades is actually
Socrates as a teacher of rhetoric, and women in her being dragged away from an orgy, both supports this
house were clearly taught more than sexual skills. reading and undermines the idea that the female fig-
Aristophanes and others refer to ‘Aspasia’s whores’, ure in the present work is Aspasia. It is possible that
and whether or not the female figure pictured here is when the painting was presented for sale in 1859 the
Aspasia or not, the setting is a brothel. name was erroneously added to the title by the auc-
tion house cataloguer.
Bearing all of this in mind, the present picture is best
read independently of all we know of Alchibiades, The painting was acquired in the mid-1780s by the
Aspasia, and above all, Socrates. It is difficult to ancestor of the Marquis de Saint Marc, along with
imagine the philosopher becoming morally outraged some other outstanding French cabinet paintings,
by a visit to a brothel and the idea that he would be and passed by descent until the 1859 sale, where it
infuriated with jealousy also seems unlikely. Socrates was unsold and bought back by his daughter, in
himself enjoyed regular symposiums in the presence whose family it remained until 2002.
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