Alexander the Great Painting

For my art, the classics will always be an influential reference point, a romantic vision, an idea of perfection, an ideal of form. For this painting I drew my inspiration from the rich heritage of classical art, especially classical Greek statues. To paint a 2D representation of a 3D image, especially one over 2000 years old, immediately presented me with two challenges. The first, was how to represent the form and the second was how to colour the image. All primary images are gone but the best representation of Alexander is usually quoted as that of Lysippus. I used a combination of this, plus the Roman copy in Ny Carlsberg Glypotek, Copenhagen and the bust of Alexander the Great in the Capitoline Museum in Rome as my inspiration for the form. For the colours, the Greek historian Arrian of Nicomedia described Alexander as: ‘strong, handsome commander with one eye dark as the night and one blue as the sky’. Others, however, believe this was an exaggeration. He is often described as having curly hair, lion-maned, or wearing a lion helmet. I painted his hair the colour of a lion’s mane, his eyes using cerulean pigment and gave him a fair complexion. I used oil pigments, 24 carat gold leaf and ink for the Classical Greek lettering.

Painting:Oil on Wood

Original:One-of-a-kind Artwork

Size:14 W x 18 H x 1 D in

Delivery Time:Typically 5-7 business days for domestic shipments, 10-14 business days for international shipments.