In this painting, several people dressed in classical attire are gathered around a man on the right, who is wearing a laurel wreath. He appears to sit on an ornately carved throne or chair, and a small brown-and-white dog sits by his feet. His brow is furrowed, and he rests his head on his hand. He is wrapped in a rich yellow cloak lined with white fur. Several people are gathered around him, some in silver armor. Behind the group are two large white columns on the left, and on the right is a draped purple curtain. Behind the columns, blue sky and distant hills are visible.
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In this painting, several people dressed in classical attire are gathered around a man on the right, who is wearing a laurel wreath. He appears to sit on an ornately carved throne or chair, and a small brown-and-white dog sits by his feet. His brow is furrowed, and he rests his head on his hand. He is wrapped in a rich yellow cloak lined with white fur. Several people are gathered around him, some in silver armor. Behind the group are two large white columns on the left, and on the right is a draped purple curtain. Behind the columns, blue sky and distant hills are visible.

National Gallery of Art · Painting

Alexander Condemning False Praise

Francesco de Mura

Date
1760s
Medium
oil on canvas
Dimensions
overall: 76 x 63.4 cm (29 15/16 x 24 15/16 in.) framed: 94.62 x 81.28 x 5.4 cm (37 1/4 x 32 x 2 1/8 in.)
Classification
Painting
Accession number
2010.93.43
Credit line
Joseph F. McCrindle Collection
Time span
1751 to 1775
Department
CIS-B

Subjects and terms

  • painted surface
  • Baroque
  • Acquired after publication of Italian Paintings of the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries
  • classical
  • secular
  • Neapolitan
  • Alexander the Great
  • Callisthenes
Provenance

(Hazlitt, Gooden & Fox, London), by 1962.[1] purchased by Joseph F. McCrindle [1923-2008]; bequest to NGA. [1] The painting appeared in Hazlitt Gallery's exhibition of May 1962, and is also listed as being with "Hazlitt Gallery" in London by Nicola Spinosa, _Pittura napoletana del Settecento dal Barocco al Rococò_, Naples, 1986: 167, no. 282, fig. 339.

NGA object ID 139765. Collection metadata is reproduced under CC0. This work is included because its NGA published-image record is marked open access; visitors should recheck the source record before substantial reuse.