This volume explores the images of Alexander the Great during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, how they came about and why they were so popular.
This volume explores the images of Alexander the Great from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, how they came about, and why they were so popular.
In contrast to the numerous studies on the historical and legendary figure of Alexander, surprisingly few studies have examined, in one volume, the visual representation of the Macedonian king in frescoes, oil paintings, engravings, manuscripts, medals, sculpture, and tapestries during the Renaissance. The book covers a broad geographical area and includes transalpine perspectives. Ingrid Alexander-Skipnes examines the role that humanists played in disseminating the stories about Alexander and explores why Alexander was so popular during the Renaissance. Alexander-Skipnes offers cultural, political, and social perspectives on the Macedonian king and shows how Renaissance artists and patrons viewed Alexander the Great.
The book will be of interest to scholars working in art history, Renaissance studies, ancient Greek history, and classics.
1. Introduction;
2. Alexanders Ancient Authors, Renaissance Humanists,
and Altdorfers Painting;
3. Alexander among the Nine Worthies and the Uomini
famosi;
4. Alexander in Renaissance Rome;
5. Depicting the Macedonian King
beyond Rome;
6. Alexanders Court Painter, Apelles, and his Fame among
Renaissance Artists;
7. The Kings Horse, Bucephalus;
8. Alexander in
Renaissance Tapestries and Petrarchs Triumph of Fame;
9. Alexander at the
Chāteau de Fontainebleau; Epilogue
Ingrid Alexander-Skipnes is a Lecturer in Art History at the Kunstgeschichtliches Institut at Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, Germany. She is an Associate Professor Emerita of the University of Stavanger, Norway.
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