OSENAT
140
-
FRENCH SCHOOL, c. 1760, circle of Michel François DANDRE BAR…
See original version (French)
140
-
FRENCH SCHOOL, c. 1760, circle of Michel François DANDRE BAR…
See original version (French)
Estimate €3,000 - €3,500
Voluntary lot
Description
FRENCH SCHOOL, c. 1760, circle of Michel François DANDRE BARDON
Augustus paying posthumous tribute to Alexander
canvas
48 x 65 cm
Previous restorations
Note:
Suetonius, in his ‘Lives of the Twelve Caesars’ (Augustus, chap. 18), reports that Augustus (63 BC–14 AD ) “ordered that Alexander’s tomb be opened and had the body removed; he placed a golden crown upon his head, covered him with flowers and paid him a pious tribute. And when asked whether he did not also wish to see the Ptolemies, he replied: ‘I wished to see a king, not the dead.’ In doing so, he was re-enacting the gesture of Alexander, who visited Achilles’ tomb to pay him homage and claim his place in his lineage.
Sébastien Bourdon also depicted this subject around 1645 in a painting now in the Louvre, incorporating Bucephalus, Alexander’s horse, into his composition.
Expert: Cabinet Turquin
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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