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Article
Le Brun's the Tent of Darius, Before and After
French Studies Bulletin (2012)
  • Jeremy N. Powers, University of Missouri–St. Louis
  • Jeanne Morgan Zarucchi, University of Missouri–St. Louis
Publication Date
June 1, 2012
DOI
10.1093/frebul/kts007
Publisher Statement
Charles Le Brun's masterwork Les Reines de Perse aux pieds d'Alexandre, also known as The Tent of Darius (1660–61),1 firmly established his reputation with Louis XIV. It depicts Alexander as a magnanimous figure after the Battle of Issus in 333 BC, showing mercy to Darius's mother, who had mistaken the general Hephaestion as the conqueror. In the story recounted by the Roman author Quintus Curtius, Alexander said to the prostrate Queen, ‘You were not mistaken, mother, for this man too is Alexander.’2 The painting inspired a subsequent series of works by Le Brun, L'Histoire d'Alexandre (known by critics writing in English as The Triumphs of Alexander), as well...
Citation Information
Jeremy N. Powers and Jeanne Morgan Zarucchi. "Le Brun's the Tent of Darius, Before and After" French Studies Bulletin Vol. 33 Iss. 123 (2012) p. 21 - 25
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/jeanne-zarucchi/11/