Mount Athos Carved as a Monument to Alexander the Great
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
41.9 × 91.4 cm (16 1/2 × 36 in.); Framed: 58.5 × 108.3 cm (23 × 42 5/8 in.)
Classification
oil on canvas
Department
Painting and Sculpture of Europe
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
100061
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Pierre-Henri de Valenciennes, a leading landscape artist in late-18th-century France, sought to elevate the art of landscape to the level of history painting. In the hierarchy of subjects set by the French artistic establishment, the painting of inspiring religious and historical narratives was placed higher than the imitation of nature. Valenciennes followed the 17th-century precedent of Nicolas Poussin by imbuing his landscapes with moral content. This work and its companion, Alexander at the ...