Democritus, the Laughing Philosopher

Democritus, the Greek philosopher, was said to laugh at the foolishness of the world, and here he leans over a globe, grinning, one hand resting on it while the other points. Painters usually paired him with Heraclitus, who wept at the same world, and Moreelse made several versions of the two. The globe also carries the monogram JPM, and the museum's records note that the P was probably added later. The painting came to the Mauritshuis in 1906 as a gift from Leo Nardus, a Dutch dealer living near Paris. Two years later, experts including the Dutch connoisseur Cornelis Hofstede de Groot exposed Nardus for selling American millionaires worthless pictures as old masters. The Democritus is still catalogued under Moreelse's name.