Diogenes was a man of strong opinions and zero shame.

Diogenes was well-known in his day, but was more infamous than loved. Plato described him as a “Socrates gone mad.” He was often seen carrying around the lantern he is seen lighting here in broad daylight, and would proclaim to passersby that he was searching for a human being. He couldn’t have cared less about social conventions, but he was a fan of sarcasm and theatrics.

To Diogenes, for a human to be rational they should be in accord with nature, but he decided humans such as this didn’t actually exist, hence his daytime lantern performance art. Gérôme portrays him in the famous earthenware tub that he called home. After being exiled from Sinope for defacing currency, he made his way to Athens. He tried to write a man about acquiring a cottage, but felt a response was taking too long so he took inspiration from a mouse.

He sought to emulate the adaptability he saw in a mouse he observed by forgoing the “dainties” of conventional life and shelter. Diogenes is known as the founder of Cynicism, based from the greek word “kynikos” meaning dog-like; those who originally labeled him as a “cynic” meant it to be an insult, but Diogenes wore the name with pride. He didn’t wear much else though, as trying to live with just the bare essentials does not leave much room for keeping up with modern fashion.

He admired the simplicity of a dog’s life and Gérôme has painted him among a group of street dogs who appear to be begging for scraps, though Diogenes, as a beggar himself, has nothing to offer but his own words and company.

There are several anecdotes surrounding Diogenes, such as his famous meeting with Alexander the Great, but separating fact from fiction in accounts of his life proves difficult. For instance, one account of his death claims he was fatally wounded by a dog bite, but the amount of dramatic irony in that version makes it seem unlikely to be true.