Francesco Fontebasso - Family of Darius before Alexander

Amid the richly decorated field tents of his victorious army, Alexander the Great pays a visit to the family of Darius, the Persian emperor whom he has just defeated. Darius's family has mistaken Alexander's companion, Hephaestion, for the great military leader, and Hephaestion points to Alexander, who is shown extending his right hand as a gesture of clemency. The battle between Alexander and Darius's forces took place in 330 B.C., but Francesco Fontabasso's fanciful representation of this episode relies on a mixture of Roman, Renaissance, and wholly invented details of armor and costume to create the atmosphere of the classical military camp.