According to Greek historian Herodotus, Persian Emperor Cambyses II ordered Sisamnes skinned alive for delivering an unjust verdict after accepting a bribe. He further ordered that the unfortunate judge's skin be used to upholster the chair from which his successor -- Sisamnes's son -- would hear future cases. A small vignette in the upper right-hand corner of David's painting shows the son dispensing justice in the macabre chair.