# Democritus

- By: Hendrick ter Brugghen (ca. –1629)
- Date: 1628
- Medium: canvas, oil paint (paint)
- Classification: painting
- Dimensions: support: height 85.7 cm x width 70 cm
- Credit line: Gift of B. Asscher, Amsterdam and H. Koetser, Amsterdam
- Museum: [Rijksmuseum](https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/collection/object/SK-A-2783--0aa99818e07cf5d4497d5409791430a3)
- Rights: [Public Domain Mark](http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/)
- Picture: https://iiif.micr.io/Czcha/full/!1920,1080/0/default.jpg
- Who can see it: Little Ones profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

The Greek philosophers Democritus and Heraclitus were considered to be polar opposites. In contrast to the old, melancholy Heraclitus (the nearby pendant), Democritus appears as a young, laughing hedonist. He points to the distance, as though that is where the folly of mankind is found. Together, the pair of paintings conveys a moralizing message: whether you laugh or cry, the world remains incurably foolish.