Albrecht Altdorfer "The Battle of Alexander the Great with Darius"

1529
The grandiose battle is depicted by oil on canvas no less than a grandiose artist. To create this masterpiece, Altdorfer did not take much time, as one might guess, looking at the picture. A very rich story, completeness and drawing of many details. Truly great creation. It's not for nothing that this painting became a favorite work of art for Napoleon Bonaparte and adorned the wall of his office for 15 years.
On the foreground of the picture come out the powerful warriors, who are depicted in the bulk of the numerous figures. However, even in this mass one can distinguish, on whose side the superiority is. You can clearly see how the Persians are beginning to retreat. The glorious army of Alexander the Great, like a single wall menacingly approaching the enemy, forcing those to experience horror and retreat. The great victory is depicted so beautifully and beautifully that it simply amazes the imagination.
It is very remarkable that a large place in the picture is given to the drawing of the sky. A huge, divided as if on two sides by color, it is depicted simultaneously with the sun and the moon. As if the author contrasts light and darkness, Persians and Russians. The sun in the sky is shown ascending, its rays seem to break through the darkness of the dark sky and give warmth and support to the warring brave. Since the picture is very rich in the semantic subject, it is expressed in the colors used by the artist.
The saturated, juicy tones of red, green, blue, blue, yellow and various shades of brown predominate. This makes the picture even more attractive, grandiose and solemn. The overall impression of the landscape is expressed in some mute awe of the significance of the historical event and the strength and power of the characters depicted.