Oil and paint pens on digitally manipulated etching in wood frame

35x29cm

£500

The Duc de La Rochefoucauld was a French author and philosopher (1613-80). Philosophers at this time communicated their wisdom and theories in big, expensive books. However, he saw that this medium was not conducive to ideas spreading, having reach or impact. In the salons of France he came up with ‘one-line philosophies’, something short enough to be remembered and passed on by word of mouth. This culminated in his famous book, The Maxims (1664), one of the true masterpieces of philosophy.

Twitter gives us the opportunity to put La Rochefoucauld’s genius in to action in our own digital salons

Alain de Botton

In this portrait La Rochefoucauld holds a bluebird, representing the Twitter logo. In this updated version the bird is covered with an X – alluding to the company’s acquisition and rebranding in 2023.