Holt Antiques at Walsingham Mill
17th Century, Italian School, Antique Oil on Copper – Most Probably Depicting Alexander & The Family of Darius III, After Charles Le Brun
17th Century, Italian School, Antique Oil on Copper – Most Probably Depicting Alexander & The Family of Darius III, After Charles Le Brun
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A small and charming cabinet picture, painted in oils on a copper panel with a characteristic arched pediment, depicting Alexander the Great's magnanimous reception of the captured women of the Persian royal family of King Darius III following the Battle of Issus.
The armoured Alexander, distinguished by his red cloak, extends his hand in a gesture of clemency toward a kneeling fair-haired figure attended by companions, with soldiers and a horse disposed in the middle distance against a luminous clouded sky.
The composition derives from the celebrated treatment of this subject that dominated European history painting from the mid-17th century onward, and this panel is best understood as a ricordo or cabinet copy after a larger prototype, executed with evident facility and charm.
Painting on copper was widely practised in Italy and the Low Countries from the late 16th century for precisely this class of small devotional and collector's picture, the smooth metal ground lending itself to fine detail and jewel-like colour. The work sits firmly within the tradition of academic classicism, echoing the great exemplars of Charles Le Brun and later European history painters.
A striking and decorative statement piece with a strong narrative presence. The reverse retains traces of an old paper label.
Provenance: Italy. 17th-century.
Material: Oil paint on copper panel.
Condition: As found, with scattered paint loss consistent with age; the image is substantially legible throughout.
Dimensions: Height 19 cm x Width 7 cm (7½ in × 2¾ in)
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