Apelles Painting Kampaspe, ca. 1682–1735
Pen and brown ink, brown and grey wash
Sheet dimensions26,4 × 41,9 cm
About the workAlexander the Great, King of Macedonia, had his court painter Apelles paint a nude portrait of his concubine Campaspe. Apelles fell in love with her, so Alexander presented her to the painter as a gift, but kept her portrait for himself. The ancient tale was a popular pictorial theme until the eighteenth century, and the painter Antoine Rivalz, who came from Toulouse, took it up in this drawing. The gender relations appear problematic today: while the artist has created a brilliant painting, the woman is the property of a man and also serves his desire as a pictorial subject.
AccessionCollection of the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf
Provenance[…]; seit 1932 Dauerleihgabe der Kunstakademie Düsseldorf
Inventory numberKA (FP) 4582
