The Battle Of Alexander At Issus Painting by Albrecht Altdorfer

Famous artwork analysis 

The Battle Of Issus

Battle of Alexander at Issus painting by Altdorfer Albrecht portrays the 333 BC Battle of Issus. Where Alexander the Great won over the Persian empire. Alexander III of Macedon, best known as Alexander the Great, was an Ancient Greek king of Macedon who reigned from 336 BC until his death. Alexander is generally perceived as one of the greatest military masterminds and tacticians in history and is considered unbeaten in battle. Famous for his military influence and charm, Alexander perpetually led his troops personally and exerted to the head ranks of battle. By conquering the Persian Empire and unifying Greece, Egypt, and Babylon, he formed the greatest empire of the ancient world and influenced the spread of Hellenism everywhere in Europe and Northern Africa.

"A Sweeping Alpine landscape dominates this dramatic painting, emphasizing the enormous scale of the swirling battle taking place in the lower half. A monumental panel floats high above the soldiers, informing the viewer that Alexander the Great has gained a decisive victory over King Darius III of Persia (who can be seen fleeing in his chariot to the left of the scene) at the Battle of Issus in 333BC. The representation draws the comparison between this great historical victory and contemporary battles of Altdorfer's day."

"The action itself is shown in vivid detail with hundreds of individual figures depicted. Altdorfer is known to have taken a tour of the Danube and the Austrian Alps in 1511, and the scenery he encountered there no doubt confirmed is the inclination towards the landscape. He produces a large number of drawing and engravings, many of them depicting landscape without any narrative."

Beard, L., Butler, A., Cleave, C. V., Fortenberry, D., & Stirling, S. (2014). The art book. London: Phaidon Press.

Who was Albrecht Altdorfer?

Albrecht Altdorfer was a German painter, engraver and designer of the Renaissance working in Regensburg, Bavaria. Alongside Lucas Cranach the Elder and Wolf Huber he is respected to be the principle illustrative of the Danube School setting scriptural and verifiable subjects against landscape foundations of expressive colors. He is exceptional as one of the primary artists to look into the landscape as an autonomous subject. As an artist likewise making little unpredictable inscriptions he apparently belongs to the Nuremberg Little Masters. He obtained an enthusiasm for workmanship from his dad, Ulrich Altdorfer, who was a painter and miniaturist. Toward the beginning of his profession, he won open consideration by making little, cozy unassumingly scaled works in whimsical media and with the capricious topics. He settled in the free royal city of Regensburg, a town situated on the Danube River in 1505, in the long run turning into the town draftsman and a town councilor. His previously marked works date to c. 1506, including inscriptions and drawings such as the Stigmata of St. Francis and St. Jerome. His models were niellos and copper etchings from the workshops of Jacopo de Barbari and Albrecht Dürer.

The Battle of Alexander at Issus - Altdorfer Albrecht Art 

• Wood canvas made from Birchwood sourced from sustainable Canadian forests
• UV set inks, meaning the print resists water
• Each wood print is made in Montreal, Canada
• Easy care, don’t touch the print if you don’t have to, but you can wipe it with a dry or damp cloth to remove dust
• Arrives ready to hang! 4-panel frame in back allows you to just pop the wood print on a small nail in the wall, no wires necessary

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