GENERAL DESCRIPTION
This painting depicts one of the many events surrounding Alexander the Great's defeat of the Persian Emperor Darius in 330 BCE, which was one of the most popular narratives in 18th-century art. The motif held special interest for Francesco Fontebasso and his contemporaries for two reasons. First, the representation of people's varied reactions to Alexander's presence allowed for a systematic study of expression. Secondly, the historic subject was a favorite among their aristocratic patrons. It is believed that Family of Darius Before Alexander may have been one of a series of works which were executed to decorate the interior of the Palazzo Pola in Treviso.
Fontebasso chose to depict the interactions after the battle, when Alexander and Hephaestion visit Darius's imprisoned mother and wife. Based on the two men's similarly regal attire, the women mistook the latter for Alexander. Hephaestion gestures toward Alexander, attempting to end the confusion. Darius's wife is terribly moved by the sight of her husband's great enemy and is wiping her tears, while the two daughters and son look more interested than frightened.
This encounter had previously been depicted by several famed Venetian artists. The Renaissance painter Paulo Veronese produced his interpretation of this scene nearly two centuries prior to Fontebasso's version, but several features of the work suggest a close emulation of the elder's example. The composition and specific moment may have been familiar to Fontebasso through the famed images of Alexander with Darius's family created by Sebastiano Ricci and Giavanni Battista Tiepolo. All of these artists included a young boy holding a shield on the lower right and the bowing figure of the queen to the left of her husband's foes. Rather than Veronese's crisp, linear, architectural setting, Ricci and Fontebasso both placed the figures in a tented environment of colorful, textured fabrics.
Family of Darius Before Alexander, is an excellent example of the Venetian Rococo style. Fontebasso's utilization of bold draughtsmanship and broad painting technique, with its thick impasto, give the painting its freshness, intensity, and vigor. The decorative scene seems to be taking place on stage and speaks of the exuberance and drama of the age. Like the work of Tiepolo, the painting is executed in the "Grand Manner," and unity is given to the composition by an intense, brilliant light which illuminates the entire surface of the work.
Adapted from
- DMA Label copy, May 2015.
- DMA unpublished material.
- Anne Bromberg, DMA unpublished material, 1987.
NOTES
Added an unpublished essay on the work by Pignatti. (Copies of the typed manuscript were in the object and education files. The essay appears to have laid the foundation for our information on the piece.)
General Description
- DMA Label copy, May 2015.
- P.F.R., DMA research essay, n.d., Education files.
- Anne Bromberg, "European Collection at the Dallas Museum of Art" unpublished essay, 1987, Education files.
I added several shorter texts from the education files into TMS as text entries. This includes a long, undated essay by P.F.R.
Note added tp this bibliographic entry- A reproduction of a study for the picture was published iby Rudolfo Pallucchini "Postille al Fontebasso," Arte Veneta XVI (1962), 188, pl. 218. The article suggests that the picture reproduced therein is a study for a larger composition.
Foreign language title- La famiglia di Dario davanti ad Allessandro
Removed TMS tag because rule in place.
This note was previously tagged #routed (and possibly !Routed_Feb15). I am removing those tags and replacing with #draft so that this note proceeds to GDocs for routing and is harvested to Brain. (EAS, 12/19/2016)
Provenance:
Until 1964: Colonel C. Michael Paul, New York, NY
From 1964: Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, gift from the above, through Wildenstein & Co., Inc., New York, NY [1]
[1] The name of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, founded in 1933, was changed to the Dallas Museum of Art in 1983.
Catalogue essays
Artist/designers
Cultures
Geography
Depicted location: Persia (historical region): TGN: 7024079
Depicted location: Asia Minor (general region): TGN: 7002294
Place of origin: Venice (Italy): TGN: 7018159
Process/materials
Historical periods
Individuals
- Alexander the Great (Macedonian King, 356-323 BCE): ULAN: 500280655 Alexander the Great
- Darius III, King of Persia (Persian King, died 330 BCE): ULAN: 500353980
- Tiepolo_Giovanni Battista: ULAN: 500018523
- Sebastiano Ricci: ULAN: 500028857
Subject terms
- history painting
- war
- mother
- sister
- infants
- narrative (artistic device)
- robe
- tent
- urn
- prisoner
- armor
- military camp
- Indexes (pointing motif)
- children
- kneeling
- sword
- helmet
- horse
- shield (armor)
- yellow
- red
- family
- figures
- academic art
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
AUDIO ASSETS
VIDEO ASSETS
IMAGE ASSETS
WEB RESOURCES
- Paolo Veronese's The Family of Darius Before Alexander (1565-1567, The National Gallery, London)~Watch a short video discussing the historical narrative depicted Veronese's painting, which also applies to Fontebasso's work of the same title.
- Paolo Veronese, The Family of Darius before Alexander (1565–1570)~See this Venetian predecessor of Fontebasso's work housed in the National Gallery, London.
- Sebastiano Ricci, Alexander and the Family of Darius (c. 1708-1710)~Check out another example of how this subject was treated by Italian artists in the 18th century. Sebastiano Ricci was Fontebasso's teacher and eventual collaborator.
ARCHIVAL RESOURCES
FUN FACTS
- The names of Darius' captive family members associated with this scene are his mother Sisgambis, his wife Statira, and his daughters Statira and Drypetis.
TEACHING IDEAS
RULES
Apply to objects where number equals 1964.110
Category
rules_operator
AND
General Description
This painting depicts one of the many events surrounding Alexander the Great's defeat of the Persian Emperor Darius in 330 BCE, which was one of the most popular narratives in 18th-century art. The motif held special interest for Francesco Fontebasso and his contemporaries for two reasons. First, the representation of people's varied reactions to Alexander's presence allowed for a systematic study of expression. Secondly, the historic subject was a favorite among their aristocratic patrons. It is believed that Family of Darius Before Alexander may have been one of a series of works which were executed to decorate the interior of the Palazzo Pola in Treviso.
Fontebasso chose to depict the interactions after the battle, when Alexander and Hephaestion visit Darius's imprisoned mother and wife. Based on the two men's similarly regal attire, the women mistook the latter for Alexander. Hephaestion gestures toward Alexander, attempting to end the confusion. Darius's wife is terribly moved by the sight of her husband's great enemy and is wiping her tears, while the two daughters and son look more interested than frightened.
This encounter had previously been depicted by several famed Venetian artists. The Renaissance painter Paulo Veronese produced his interpretation of this scene nearly two centuries prior to Fontebasso's version, but several features of the work suggest a close emulation of the elder's example. The composition and specific moment may have been familiar to Fontebasso through the famed images of Alexander with Darius's family created by Sebastiano Ricci and Giavanni Battista Tiepolo. All of these artists included a young boy holding a shield on the lower right and the bowing figure of the queen to the left of her husband's foes. Rather than Veronese's crisp, linear, architectural setting, Ricci and Fontebasso both placed the figures in a tented environment of colorful, textured fabrics.
Family of Darius Before Alexander, is an excellent example of the Venetian Rococo style. Fontebasso's utilization of bold draughtsmanship and broad painting technique, with its thick impasto, give the painting its freshness, intensity, and vigor. The decorative scene seems to be taking place on stage and speaks of the exuberance and drama of the age. Like the work of Tiepolo, the painting is executed in the "Grand Manner," and unity is given to the composition by an intense, brilliant light which illuminates the entire surface of the work.
Adapted from
- DMA Label copy, May 2015.
- DMA unpublished material.
- Anne Bromberg, DMA unpublished material, 1987.
Fun Facts
- The names of Darius' captive family members associated with this scene are his mother Sisgambis, his wife Statira, and his daughters Statira and Drypetis.
Archival Resources
Web Resources
- Paolo Veronese's The Family of Darius Before Alexander (1565-1567, The National Gallery, London)~Watch a short video discussing the historical narrative depicted Veronese's painting, which also applies to Fontebasso's work of the same title.
- Paolo Veronese, The Family of Darius before Alexander (1565–1570)~See this Venetian predecessor of Fontebasso's work housed in the National Gallery, London.
- Sebastiano Ricci, Alexander and the Family of Darius (c. 1708-1710)~Check out another example of how this subject was treated by Italian artists in the 18th century. Sebastiano Ricci was Fontebasso's teacher and eventual collaborator.
Notes
Added an unpublished essay on the work by Pignatti. (Copies of the typed manuscript were in the object and education files. The essay appears to have laid the foundation for our information on the piece.)
General Description
- DMA Label copy, May 2015.
- P.F.R., DMA research essay, n.d., Education files.
- Anne Bromberg, "European Collection at the Dallas Museum of Art" unpublished essay, 1987, Education files.
I added several shorter texts from the education files into TMS as text entries. This includes a long, undated essay by P.F.R.
Note added tp this bibliographic entry- A reproduction of a study for the picture was published iby Rudolfo Pallucchini "Postille al Fontebasso," Arte Veneta XVI (1962), 188, pl. 218. The article suggests that the picture reproduced therein is a study for a larger composition.
Foreign language title- La famiglia di Dario davanti ad Allessandro
Removed TMS tag because rule in place.
This note was previously tagged #routed (and possibly !Routed_Feb15). I am removing those tags and replacing with #draft so that this note proceeds to GDocs for routing and is harvested to Brain. (EAS, 12/19/2016)
Provenance:
Until 1964: Colonel C. Michael Paul, New York, NY
From 1964: Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, gift from the above, through Wildenstein & Co., Inc., New York, NY [1]
[1] The name of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, founded in 1933, was changed to the Dallas Museum of Art in 1983.
Catalogue essays
Artist/designers
Cultures
Geography
Depicted location: Persia (historical region): TGN: 7024079
Depicted location: Asia Minor (general region): TGN: 7002294
Place of origin: Venice (Italy): TGN: 7018159
Process/materials
Historical periods
Individuals
- Alexander the Great (Macedonian King, 356-323 BCE): ULAN: 500280655 Alexander the Great
- Darius III, King of Persia (Persian King, died 330 BCE): ULAN: 500353980
- Tiepolo_Giovanni Battista: ULAN: 500018523
- Sebastiano Ricci: ULAN: 500028857
Subject terms
- history painting
- war
- mother
- sister
- infants
- narrative (artistic device)
- robe
- tent
- urn
- prisoner
- armor
- military camp
- Indexes (pointing motif)
- children
- kneeling
- sword
- helmet
- horse
- shield (armor)
- yellow
- red
- family
- figures
- academic art
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
AUDIO ASSETS
VIDEO ASSETS
rules
Apply To
Objects
number
Equals
1964.110
source file
object_notes_2_b-0265.xml.nores