Phryne_before_the_Areopagus
Phryne Before the Areopagus
Painting by Jean-Léon Gérôme
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, an ancient Greek hetaira (courtesan) 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."[1]
The painting was exhibited at the 1861 Salon.[2] It is in the collection of the Kunsthalle Hamburg in Germany.