The Philosopher, the Priest, and the Painter: A Portrait of Descartes

How a famous painting opens a window into the life, times, and philosophy of René Descartes

In the Louvre museum hangs a portrait that is considered the iconic image of René Descartes, the great seventeenth-century French philosopher. And the painter of the work? The Dutch master Frans Hals-or so it was long believed, until the work was downgraded to a copy of an original. But where is the authentic version, and who painted it? Is the man in the painting-and in its original-really Descartes...