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Mount Athos Carved as a Monument to Alexander the Great by Pierre Henri de Valenciennes

Mount Athos Carved as a Monument to Alexander the Great

Pierre Henri de Valenciennes·1796

Historical Context

Valenciennes's Mount Athos Carved as a Monument to Alexander the Great, painted in 1796, illustrates the ancient proposal by the architect Dinocrates to carve the entire mountain into a colossal statue of Alexander. This visionary project, described by Vitruvius, embodied the sublime ambition that fascinated Romantic-era artists. Valenciennes uses the subject to explore the relationship between human aspiration and the overwhelming scale of nature — themes central to both Neoclassical and Romantic aesthetics.

Technical Analysis

Valenciennes renders the colossal mountain-monument with dramatic scale and atmospheric perspective, emphasizing the sublime relationship between human ambition and natural grandeur. The carefully modulated tones create distance and altitude, while the warm palette reflects his Italian landscape training.

Provenance

James Hunt (died 1801), London, offered for sale, Christie’s, London, February 5, 1802, lot 62, bought in [according to Maria Wilson of Christie’s, letter of January 9, 1996, to Larry Feinberg, in curatorial files]; Hunt family, London. Reverend George Augustus Frederick Hart (died 1872), M. A., Vicar of Arundel, Tower House, Arundel, Sussex; by descent to his niece Catherine (Mrs. John Lord); sold at Tower House, Arundel, Sotheby’s, May 20–21, 1873, lot 130, to G. Fry for £36 [British Museum annot. cat.]. Alderman Philip Spowart (died 1945), Berwick-upon-Tweed, from c. 1937 [according to recollection of Alan G. Burns, letter of February 9, 1988, in curatorial file]; his widow, Anne Nicholson Spowart (née Wood); given to her nephew, Alan G. Burns, Berwick-upon-Tweed, 1960 [Alan G. Burns letters of April 4, 1984, and February 9, 1988, in curatorial file]; sold, Henry Spencer and Sons, Retford, Nottinghamshire, November 9, 1978, lot 212, to Crozier acting on behalf of Trafalgar Galleries and P. and D. Colnaghi, London, 1978 [A. G. E. Marriot letter of April 10, 1984, and notes in curatorial file]; transferred to Colnaghi, New York, 1982; sold to the Art Institute, 1983.

See It In Person

Art Institute of Chicago

Chicago, United States

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Quick Facts

Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
41.9 × 91.4 cm
Era
Neoclassicism
Style
French Neoclassicism
Genre
Landscape
Location
Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago
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Alexander at the Tomb of Cyrus the Great by Pierre Henri de Valenciennes

Alexander at the Tomb of Cyrus the Great

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View of Rome by Pierre Henri de Valenciennes

View of Rome

Pierre Henri de Valenciennes·c. 1782–1784

Study of Clouds over the Roman Campagna by Pierre-Henri de Valenciennes

Study of Clouds over the Roman Campagna

Pierre-Henri de Valenciennes·c. 1782/1785

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