Family of Darius before Alexander; Prisoners before a Senator
Medium
Pen and brown ink, with brush and brown wash, over traces of black chalk, on buff laid paper, laid down on tan laid paper
Dimensions
16.7 × 38.3 cm (6 5/8 × 15 1/8 in.)
Classification
ink with wash
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
81678
Art Historical Context
In the Prints and Drawings collection of the Institute of Chicago lies a captivating Renaissance drawing by Polidoro da Caravaggio, *Family of Darius before Alexander; Prisoners a Senator*. Created with pen and brown ink, and brown wash over traces of black chalk on laid paper (16.7 × 38.3 cm), this work juxtaposes two dramatic classical scenes. On one side, Alexander the Great encounters the defeated Persian king's family with mercy; on the other, prisoners plead before a stern Roman senator—timeless motifs of power, compassion, and justice drawn from ancient history. Polidoro da Caravaggio ...
About the Artist
Polidoro da Caravaggio · 1492–present
Polidoro Caldara, known as Polidoro da Caravaggio, was born around 1499 in Caravaggio, Lombardy, and emerged as one of the most innovative painters of the early Mannerist period. Arriving in Rome circa 1515 as an untrained laborer hauling plaster for the Vatican Logge decorations, he quickly caught the eye of Raphael's key assistant, Maturino da Firenze. By 1517, Polidoro had joined Raphael's work...