A Flemish tapestry with a depiction of the anecdote 'Diogenes at the barrel'. Diogenes is lying up against the barrel in which he lived. If this fragment had been in its original size, there would most likely (in the front and to the left) have been a lamp, which he, according to the anecdote, used as he in vain searched for a true human being, meaning an honest and independent being. A dog is called kyon in Greek; Here, it symbolizes the cynics, the philosophical school that Diogenes founded and whose name comes from their lifestyle of living as dogs. Made of wool and silk. C. 1700. 213×159 cm (reduced in size).
Diogenes from Sinope, approx. 400–325 BC. Greek philosopher and founder of the cynic philosophy. In the history of philosophy, his place is between Socrates and Zenon, the founder of stoicism. However, the unique significance of Diogenes was not so much in a philosophical theory, rather it was due to his practice of the particular cynical way of life: shamelessness regarding bodily functions and utmost moderation as proof of the inconsequentiality of conventional goods and social benefits. Diogenes here invoked physis ‘nature’ as opposed to nomos 'convention'. In the latter, he included a traditional citizen virtue such as patriotism; Diogenes was the first cosmopolitan. Through his practice and his sarcastic remarks, he wanted to challenge the citizenry and take a stand against the social and political status system. Countless anecdotes about him were in circulation during antiquity (“Diogenes in the Barrel”), and his unique figure has achieved a permanent place in the history of European intellectual thought.
Reduced size. Faded. Repairs. Unattached threads.
Paintings and furniture, 9 October 2017
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