Italian School, 18th century, Plato and Cleodulus: a pair, oil on canvas

Anonymous sale, New York, Christie's, 8 November 1985, lot 78;
There purchased by the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art.

Canvas depicting Plato-Canvas has been relined. There are various retouches scattered throughout this large canvas. Many are visible to the naked eye, and these can be seen in certain cases as the whiter paint tones. Notably, the eyes of the figure here have been repainted, which gives an idea as to the hue of certain areas of repaint. There is no one focused area of repaint, but rather it appears that at a later time, much of the shading in the drapery has been repainted. The background also has rather loose in painting. Canvas depicting Cledolus-Similar to the previous picture, there are scattered retouches throughout this canvas. It too has been relined, probably at the same time as the previous picture. The face of the figure has numerous retouches, and throughout the shading of the drapery. The background, while also containing certain areas of repaint, does not appear to be as loose as the previous picture, and most appear to be rather isolated. For canvases of this size and age, it is not surprising that there are larger areas of retouching. As large works, they present themselves quite well to the naked eye, and the retouches are in certain cases invisible to the naked eye. Both pictures are unframed.
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Cleobolus of Lindos was one of the Seven Sages of Greece, along with Solon of Athens, Chilon of Sparta, Bias of Priene, Thales of Miletus, Pittacus of Mytilene, and Periander of Corinth. The sages were hailed for their wisdom, and numerous sayings have been attributed to the group which demonstrate their sound, rational approach to society and law. In the present work, for example, Cleobolus holds a parchment which reads METPON APIΣTON, translated from Greek to read "Moderation is the best thing". The earliest recorded reference to the Sages can be found in Plato's Protagoras, therefore it is unsurprising that the two great thinkers from antiquity are here depicted here together.