Lot 1024 Dα

The episode depicted in the present canvas comes from the Histories of Alexander the Great: Taxiles was a Punjab sovereign who reigned at the time of Alexander the Great's expedition. Probably with a view to strengthening himself against his enemies, he sent an embassy to Alexander with offers of assistance and support. As represented here, the two met and Taxiles presented the Greek sovereign with valuable presents, placing himself and all his forces at his disposal; Alexander was emboldened to divide his forces, and Taxiles assisted him in various enterprises.
The present painting, certainly the work of an artist deeply influenced by Carracci's style in the Roman years, relates to the recently discovered painting on panel, by Sisto Baldalocchio, depicting the same episode (art market, Italy), which was part of a series of 11 oval works commissioned for the roman palace of Termini sull'Esquilino by Cardinal Alessandro Peretti Montalto (nephew of Pope Sixtus V). The cycle, representing the “Histories of Alexander the Great”, was commissioned and executed by the best artists of the day - Domenichino, Lanfranco and Baglione amongst others - and reflects the classicist taste of the Cardinal. The commission was certainly a means to represent the Cardinal's status, as well as a celebration of his personal virtues, as testified by the choice of particular - and iconographically unusual - subjects. It has been suggested that Montalto was attempting to create the ideal pictorial language theorized by Monsignor Agucchi, who he certainly met during his Bolognese years.