The Cave

I have come across many fine images of the Allegory of the Cave from Plato's Republic, but this one is surely my favorite. 

I am struck by the packed crowd of those who can see only the shadows, and I can almost feel their misery. Most depictions of the Cave are rather neutral, yet here we can vividly sense the despair that comes with ignorance, 

I feel the urgency of the two men who are trying to convince the crowd to escape from their dark corner, though their arguments are met only with disbelief. 

The eye is naturally drawn to the circle of "wise men", who are surely discussing the true nature of reality. And yet, we must remember from the text, they perceive only the physical world, their backs still turned to the exit. 

And standing outside, barely noticeable, are three figures who gaze upon the reality of the Universal Forms, illuminated by the Sun of the True, the Good, and the Beautiful. 

I don't have many framed prints, mainly because it is such an expensive hobby, so over the years I have only collected copies of Raphael's The School of Athens, Delacroix's The Last Words of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius, and Gerome's Diogenes. This fine work by Saenredam, apparently copied from a lost painting by van Haarlem, is now the only one I would ever consider adding to the others. 

—12/2014 

Jan Saenredam, The Allegory of the Cave (1604)