“In addition to being an essential step in the elaboration of the Metropolitan picture, the present drawing is a fascinating document for our understanding of David’s working method. He first traces different lines of perspective and outlines in graphite the décor with the help of a ruler. He then adds, still using graphite, the figures…

“In this landmark of Neoclassical painting from the years immediately preceding the French Revolution, David took up a classical story of resisting unjust authority in a sparse, frieze-like composition. The Greek philosopher Socrates (469–399 B.C.) was convicted of impiety by the Athenian courts; rather than renounce his beliefs, he died willingly, discoursing on the immortality…