17th Century French School. The Family Of Darius At The Feet Of Alexander

French school of the 17th century. The family of Darius at the feet of Alexander.

Relined canvas measuring 92 cm by 63 cm.
Antique frame measuring 113 cm by 85 cm.

This very beautiful painting, magnificently framed, represents the queens of Persia at the feet of Alexander the Great, shortly after his victory at Issus in 333. Accompanied by his faithful Hephaestion, Alexander visits the queen who is carrying her son Ochus in her arms. The queen implores clemency for her family. Very beautiful version after the work of Charles Lebrun, the original of which is at the Palace of Versailles. Probably painted around 1661 at the beginning of the personal government of Louis XIV, it will mark the beginning of the painter's career as painter to the king. This composition is one of the most famous works of French painting, it opened, from its completion, a new era of this Art in our country. Engraved by Gérard Edelinck the Elder (1640; 1707), it was widely and quickly distributed throughout Europe, allowing local artists to revisit the subject in their own way. Within the Academy itself, some artists painted their own versions. One of them can be seen at the Palace of Versailles, in the Queen's antechamber, where you can admire a monumental ceiling by Henri Testelin that depicts the scene. Note the similarities between our painting and this version by Testelin. The scene is inspired by a sequence from Plutarch's Lives of Illustrious Men, a passage from Quintus Curtius, but also by contemporary plays centered on the Macedonian hero: Claude Boyer in 1648 (Porus or the Generosity of Alexander), Morel in 1658 (Timoclée or the Generosity of Alexander, a tragicomedy), already emphasized the greatness of soul of the conqueror of Darius.