Phryne before the Areopagus

Phryne before the Areopagus

Artist	Jean-Léon Gérôme
Year	1861
Dimensions	80.5 cm × 128 cm (31.7 in × 50 in)
Location	Kunsthalle Hamburg, Hamburg

Phryne before the Areopagus (French: Phryne devant l'Areopage) is an 1861 painting by the French artist Jean-Léon Gérôme. The subject matter is Phryne, a legendary courtesan in ancient Greece who was put on trial for impiety. Phryne was acquitted after her defender Hypereides removed her robe and exposed her naked bosom, "to excite the pity of her judges by the sight of her beauty."

The painting was exhibited at the 1861 Salon. It is in the collection of the Kunsthalle Hamburg in Germany.

Caricatures

1884: Phryne before the Chicago Tribunal by Bernhard Gillam, Puck, v. 15, no. 378, (4 June 1884)

File:The high tariff Phryne before the tribunal - Keppler after Gerome. LCCN2011647376.jpg

1908: The High Tariff Phryne before the Tribunal by Udo J. Keppler, Puck, v. 64, no. 1658, (9 December 1908)

Bernhard Gillam made a famous caricature drawing in 1884 titled Phryne before the Chicago Tribunal, where Phryne is replaced by the Republican Party presidential candidate James G. Blaine, covered in scandals, and Hypereides by the newspaper editor Whitelaw Reid. Teddy Roosevelt can be seen in the front row.

Another caricature followed in 1908, The High Tariff Phryne before the Tribunal.