Meaning Behind the Painting, The Battle of Alexander at Issus

The Battle of Alexander at Issus is Albrecht Altdorfer’s most famous painting (www.wikipedia.org). Painted in 1528-9, the oil painting depicts a young Alexander the Great in 333 BC, at the point of victory over the Persian army of King Darius III in the battle of Issus (www.ibiblio.org). Issus was an ancient town in southeast Asia Minor near modern-day Iskenderum, Turkey, however on the painting it is shown in the rocky environment of the Alps with German cities in the background (www.ibiblio.org). Altdorfer, a painter, engraver, architect, and leading member of the Danube School of German art, is considered the first true landscape painter and a pioneer of copperplate etching (www.ibiblio.org). Battle of Alexander and Darius at Issus was†¦show more content†¦The Battle of Issus, is atypical in his work, in both its size and subject matter (ww.wikipedia.org). The painting is made up of a number of miniatures of battle scenes he had done much earlier for his manuscript Triumphal Procession in 1512-14 (www.wikipedia.org). He signed the painting with a monogram in the lower left hand corner, dating it 1529, and also inscribed it: â€Å"Albrecht Altorfer Zu Regenspvrg Fecit† on the bottom edge of the banner panel in the sky (www.wikipedia.org). Despite the grandeur of scale, Altdorfer displays a miniaturist’s mastery of brush stoke, with every tiny figure rendered in exacting detail (Phaidon 409). The topographic landscape was imaginatively adapted by Altdorfer from a map of the lands around the Mediterranean and stretches as far as the Nile Valley (Phaidon 409). Behind the huge armies are the mountains of Asia Minor in the front of the Mediterranean Sea and Cyprus (www.wikipedia.org). In the background are Palestine, Sinai, the Red Sea, and Africa with the meandering Nile River heading for the Nile Delta in front of the gently bent horizon and the dramatic setting sun (www.wikipedia.org). In the heavens, the sun and the moon cast thei r light over the scene (Phaidon 409). While the all encompassing landscape may allude to the scale of Alexander’s victory, the diminutive figures lost in the immensity of nature also seem to point toShow MoreRelatedNature Methaphors in The Battle of Issus and Starry Night Essay1232 Words   |  5 Pagesbring meaning in many ways in art. During the Northern Renaissance Albrecht Altdorfer was one of the most distinguished painters known for his expressively detailed landscapes. The Battle of Issus done by Altdorfer focused on nature to further amplify Alexander’s victorious battle. Three hundred and sixty years later, the Dutch artist Vincent Van Gogh creates a work that also showed how nature can bring emotion and significance to his painting Starry Night. Albrecht Altdorfer’s The Battle of Issus