The Family of Darius by Paolo Veronese

Author(s): Jean Paul Richter

Source: The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs, Vol. 62, No. 361 (Apr., 1933), pp. 180-
183
Published by: Burlington Magazine Publications Ltd.
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/865338
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picture in New York and the portrait in
Boston-not only the resemblance in method
but that of point of view-is another reason for
8 That another artist assisted de Vos in this picture does
not alter the truth of this general observation; the style of
an assistant is recognizable in the hand and basket of fruit
held by the girl at the left. This assistant may also have
helped paint the background.
A Picture by Cornelis de Vos
supposing that the Boston picture must be
dated after the several portraits and family
groups whiich are painted in Cornelis de Vos'
more famriliar manner.
[The Portrait of Marie Anne de Schodt appears in the last
Edition of the " Klassiker der Kunst " on Van Dyck as by that
master.-EDIToR.]

THE FAMILY OF 'DARJIUS BY PAOLO VERONESE

BY JEAN PAUL RICHTER
HE Family of Darius before dearest friend, who had been educated with him
Alexander by Paolo Veronese in the and knew him intimately. As a friend Hephais-
National Gallery is rightly esteemed tion alone enjoyed the privilege of serving
to be one of the chief works of the Alexander as a counsellor, and he used this
master [PLATE A]. Since it is care- privilege wisely, avoiding all appearance of pre.
fully executed and well preserved it may be con- sumption, and giving the impression of acting
sidered a good example of Paolo's technique. always with the king's permission. He was of
But if it is to be numbered among masterpieces, the same age as the king, but taller, and the
its title must be established not only by the fine captive women therefore took him for the king
quality of its technique but also by the presen- and prostrated themselves before him as was the
tation of its subject matter, and here doubts may custom. When some of the eunuchs pointed
arise. One may fairly ask whether the historical out the real Alexander, Sisigambis knelt at
event has been well represented. Alexander's feet and apologized for her mistake,
The centre is occupied by a group of ladies explaining that she had not recognized him.
in stately costume, kneeling; they evidently Then the king lifted her from the ground and
were meant to represent the wife and daughters said: " You are not at fault, dear mother, for
of Darius, the defeated King of Persia. he too is Alexander."
Opposite them, standing on the right, is a In his interpretation of this scene the artist
group of officers of high rank surrounding the changed the place of action, but adhered to the
youthful figure of Alexander, King of ,Mace- theme. Instead of the tent we see a palatial hall,
donia. In some editions of the Catalogue it is instead of Oriental and Greek costumes, the
stated that Alexander has his generals Hephais- figures appear in the Venetian dress of the period.
tion and Parmenio at his side. But no attempt The heads are portraits taken from life. They
is made to explain the gesture of the king, who is evidently represent Venetian patricians and,
seen raising his arm and pointing towards according to tradition, they are members of the
Hephaistion. It will be shown below that the distinguished Pisani family. The historic scene
significance of the whole composition depends on here serves as the motif for the grouping of the
this expressive gesture. Here the interest of portraits as was customary, especially in
the scene is concentrated and brought to a Venetian painting. But the choice of the
focus.
particular scene seems to need an explanation.
The incident of the family of Darius before For, does it not seem strange that a proud
Alexander has been described in the "History of Venetian noblewoman should have conde-
Alexander the Great" by Quintus Curtius Rufus. scended to be shown kneeling before one or two
The writer, who was a contemporary of the of her sons or nephews ? Not that she would
Roman emperor Nero, is known to have drawn have objected to play the part of a queen of a
his information from earlier Greek sources. His world-empire, but she would surely have disliked
book first appeared in print in Venice at the this humble prostration before her own kins-
Aldine Press in 1494, and again in 1510 : a third men.
edition, with a commentary by Erasmus, We find this explanation in the writings of
appeared at Strassburg in 1518, that is ten years contemporary of Curtius Rufus. It is a curio
before Paolo's birth. The passage occurs in the fact that Renaissance artists, when confronte
third book, following a description of Alex- with the task of depicting scenes of the gloriou
ander's victory over Darius. It is said that, past of Greek and Roman history, did not as
after due honours were shown to the fallen, rule draw their information directly from su
Alexander sent messengers to announce to the recognized authorities as Curtius Rufus or Liv
captive women that he was on his way to see the great historian of the expansion of Rom
them. Leaving his retinue behind he entered but preferred to turn for information to anoth
the tent, accompanied only by Hephaistion, his classical writer, Valerius Maximus, the autho

i8I

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A-The Family of Darius before Alexander the Great, by Paolo Veronese. Canvas, 2.34 by 4-73 m. (The National
Gallery, London)

B-The Family of Darius before Alexander the Great, engraving after the picture in the Louvre by Charles Le Brun

The Family of Darius by Paolo Veronese

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The Family of Darius by Paolo Veronese
of "Memorable Deeds and Sayings" (Factorum The subject of the picture was evidently con-
et Dictorum memorabiliter libri IX), a first ceived to serve as an example to be emulated by
edition of which was also published in Venice the Venetian nobility, and especially by the
hy the Aldine Press as early as 1534. It was Pisani family and liy their descendants.
evidently a much read book and proofs are not We may assume as probable that before the
lacking that scholars, when asked to advise on time of Paolo Veronese, the subject of the
the composition of pictures and settle questions picture described above had never been painted.
of details and accessories, used to refer to After the lapse of a hundred years, it was taken
Valerius. For while Rufus and Livy were up by a celebrated French painter, Charles Le
chiefly concerned with the recounting of events Brun. His career as a painter of the seven-
and happenings, Valerius presented his subject- teenth century runs exactly parallel to that of
matter in such a way as to draw from it a moral Paolo Veronese. Le Brun was born in the year
lesson. His stories therefore fulfilled admirably 1619, and died 169o. Paolo Veronese, born in
the requirements of a " Tendenz-Bild." For we 1528, died in 1588. Le Brun, " le grand
have to bear in mind that, by common consent, peintre du grand siecle," as " premier peintre
a pictorial composition had to teach something du Roi " was commissioned by Louis XIV to
or point a moral. This tendency was inherited paint a large picture, " La famille de Darius aux
from medieval times when art was the hand- pieds d'Alexandre le Grand," for the palace of
maid of the Church and when paintings generally Versailles. It is now in the Louvre Gallery
illustrated scenes which were meant to appeal (No. 51I) and here reproduced from an early
to the conscience or to edify the spirit. French engraving after the painting [PLATE B].
Valerius discourses at length on AlexanderAin prominent contemporary French writer pro-
the part of his work dealing with friendship claimed this picture by Le Brun to be superior
(Book III, Chap. VII, Ext. ?2). In describ- in every respect to any work by Paolo Veronese.
ing friendship between great men he says: It is interesting and instructive to follow the
The breast where faith resides is like a temple
arguments of his treatise, entitled " Commen-
filled with the Divine spirit " (fida hominum taire de Perrault, le disciple de Descartes, l'ami
pectora quasi quaedam sancto spiritu referta de Le Brun, sur La Famille de Darius aux Pieds
templa sunt). By way of illustration, he d'Alexandre
pro- de Le Brun a Versailles." It
ceeds to cite Alexander the Great, and says:
" When the camp of Darius fell into his hands analyses the merits of Le Brun's picture by
as booty, and therewith all the Persian king's describing it as follows:
belongings and womenfolk, Alexander went to C'est un v6ritable pobme ofi toutes les rbgles
see and talk to them, keeping the beloved sont observ6es. L'unit6 d'action, c'est Alexandre
Hephaestion at his side. At his appearance the qui entre dans la tente de Darius. L'unit6 du
mother of Darius touched the ground with her lieu, c'est cette tente ofi il n'y a que les personnes
face according to the Oriental custom, and then qui s'y devait trouver. L'unit6 de temps, c'est
looking up at Hephaestion, whom she mistook to le moment ofi Alexandre dit, qu'on ne s'est pas
be the king on account of his more imposing beaucoup tromp6 en prenant Ephestion pour lui,
stature, entreated him and tried to move his heart. parce qu' Ephestion est un autre lui-m~me. Si l'on
When she was made aware of her mistake, she regarde avec quel soin on a fait tendre toutes
in great terror sought words of excuse. But choses h un seul but, rien n'est de plus li6, de plus
Alexander said to her: ' There is nothing amiss r6uni et de plus uni, si cela se peut dire, comme la
in your having taken him for me, for he too is repr6sentation de cette histoire; et rien en m~me
Alexander.' So great was the magnanimity of temps n'est plus divers et plus vari6 si l'on
the king at a time when he could call the whole considbre les diffbrentes attitudes des personnages
world his own, or had hopes of world-dominion, et les expressions particulibres de leur passions.
that, in a few words, he proposed to share his Tout ne va qu'h repr6senter l'Ntonnement,
honours with his friend. Indeed, we cannot say l'admiration, la surprise et la crainte que cause
whom we admire most, him who uttered these l'arriv6e du plus c6l6bre conqubrant de la terre,
words or him to whom the words referred. For et ces passions, qui n'ont toutes qu'un m~me
these magnificent words do honour to both, to objet, se trouvent diff~remment exprimbes dans
him who spoke them, and to him of whom they les diverses personnes qui les ressent. La mhre
were spoken." de Darius " abattue sous le poids de sa douleur
Valerius Maximus thus extols the words of the et de son Age." La femme de Darius " non
Greek king as an example of greatness of soul moins touch~e, mais ayant plus de force, regarde
and as an ideal to be emulated by those who areles yeux en larmes celui dont elle craint et attend
toutes choses." Statira " dont la beaut est
in exalted positions. His description com- encore plus touchante par les pleurs qu'elle
pletely corresponds with Paolo Veronese's rdpand," etc.
picture in which the poses of the king and his Ici les personnages ne semblent pas se voir les
companion form the centre of interest. The uns les autres, et il n'y a que la seule volont6 du
king's eloquent gesture appears to illustrate the peintre qui les ait fait trouver dans le m~me lieu.
very words recorded by Valerius. D'oii la conclusion : je compare les ouvrages de

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 The Family of Darius by Paolo Veronese
nos excellents modernes A des corps animbs dont
les parties sont tellement lides les unes avec les
autres qu'elles ne peuvent pas etre mises ailleurs
qu'au lieu off elles sont, et je compare la pluspart
des tableaux anciens h un amas de pierres ou
d'autres choses jeties aux hasard, et qui pourraient
se ranger autrement qu'elles sont sans qu'on s'en
aper?Ut.
Modern criticism frankly admits that to Le
Brun is due the imposing unity of French
decorative art and that he is therefore entitled to
be called the creator of the style of Louis XIV.
Needless to say in explanation of Perrault's
argument that his reasoning reflects the
Aristotelean theory of unity of composition as
constituting the perfection needed for every
artistic performance, be it on the stage or in
representative art, which was observed by Le
Brun as well as by Racine and Corneille, but
ignored by Paolo Veronese, ignored by Shake-
speare.
The studied classical formalism in Le Brun's
composition here reproduced appeals to us only
slightly, but the eloquent display of sentiment
in the crowd of women prostrate at the king's
feet is a performance which may still be sym-
pathetic to a few of our contemporaries.
Quite differently conceived are the Persian
king's wife, children and party prostrate before
the Greek intruder. An atmosphere of dignified
reserve permeates Paolo Veronese's conception
in his group of captive Royal princesses, which
compares favourably with the unrestrained
manner in which the ladies in Le Brun's picture
parade their grief.

GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE AND PERSIAN ORIGINS

BY MARTIN S. BRIGGS
OPULAR interest in Persian art spaces being merely shells. A little later the
beginnings of real ribs appear. Meanwhile, the
was aroused by the notable exhibi-
ogival vault has been fully developed, and on the
tion held at Burlington House two
exterior there are traces of rudimentary buttresses,
years ago, and has been stimulated
and all these appear anywhere from two, three or
by the recent exhibition of photo-
even four centuries before any such manifestations
graphs by Dr. Arthur Upham Pope which
can be found in Europe. Similarly, some of the
occupied the galleries of the Royal Institute of vaults are so close, not only in form, but in
domed
specified details of construction, to Romanesque
British Architects during February of this year.
Those who saw Dr. Pope's magnificent collec-
domed vaults in both Spain and Italy, which are
important steps in the evolution of European
tion of photographs in 193I were not surprised
to find that his new illustrations of Persian architecture, that again it seems almost certain
architecture and architectural ornament maintain that an Eastern derivation must be con-

the same high standard of photographic crafts- cluded.......

Mr. Pope himself, who is convinced of the
manship, coupled with something like genius Persian origin of Gothic, said that he has dis-
in the selection of subjects. Persian art forms covered in medieval records evidence of visits of
an apparently inexhaustible mine; and certainly church architects from Europe to the East. For
it is far from being worked out yet. But to the example, the prior of a monastery on the Loire
Western mind, perhaps inevitably, the chief is known to have spent three years in the twelfth
interest in these newly discovered mosques and century as a prisoner in Baghdad and elsewhere. ..
other buildings lies in the bearing which they The unique opportunity given to Mr. Pope to take
may have on the story of the evolution of hundreds of photographs of mosques hitherto
medieval architecture in Europe. unknown in the West has produced revolutionary
In the reports of the address delivered by Dr. proof. . . . . . The beautiful photograph of the
great twelfth-century mosque at Isfahan shows,
Pope at the opening of the exhibition at the for example, a sort of aisle with pointed arches
R.I.B.A. Galleries in February, and in sundry which, by a slight stretch of the imagination,
contributions of his and of his supporters to the might be taken for part of a French Gothic
Press, striking claims are made as to the extent cathedral.
of our borrowings from Persia. The photo- Persian architecture . . . revealed brick struc-
graphs, we are told- ture at its highest. Incidentally the bricks are
show a command of vault and dome construc- very large, being burnt clay slabs about a foot
square. . . . Here we may see the beginning of
tion unsurpassed, if not unequalled, by the archi-
the pointed arch as early as the year 7oo; the dome
tecture of any other country, and in the opinion
of large circumference; and later, but before the
of many scholars demonstrate, if not conclusively
twelfth century, the ogival vault, the ribbed vault,
at least with the highest probability, the theory
first suggested by Dieulafoy more than half external
a buttresses, and the marvellous ingenuity
century ago, that European Gothic architecture of the squinch arch. . . . The greater part of this
owes its origin to Iran. Here is the beginningwork
of is vital and masculine from a structural, or
engineering,
the ogival vault, and of the vault carried on piers point of view.
The above quotations from various reports of
with the weight resting on the axes, the inter-

183

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