Entry of Alexander into Babylon by Charles le Brun of 1664

This work by Charles LeBrun was created in about 1664 and is housed in the Louvre in Paris.  It depicts the ultimate pinnacle in the career of the Macedonian conqueror.  Having subdued what were considered the important areas of Europe and Africa, Alexander felt as if he had conquered all the world with his entry into the capital of Asia.  Yet the elation was short-lived and Alexander moved on to further conquests to the East, never satisfied.

Charles Le Brun was a Parisian who began training as an artist at the age of eleven in 1630.  Within four years he was commissioned by Cardinal Richlieu.  He entered the company of Nicolas Poussin in Rome in 1642 and returned in Paris in 1646.  He became attached to Cardinal Mazarin and Colbert and with them engaged in a coup d’etat taking over the French Academy.  He was commissioned by Louis XIV to execute a series of paintings depicting Alexander the Great and this work is one of those.  He continued to enjoy royal favor until his death in his mansion in 1690.

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