Alexander Condemning False Praise

Francesco de Mura painted Alexander Condemning False Praise in the 1760s, treating a moral exemplum from the life of Alexander the Great. De Mura was the last great representative of the Neapolitan Baroque decorative tradition, inheriting the mantle of his teacher Francesco Solimena. His history paintings and decorative cycles in churches and palaces across Naples demonstrate the continuation of the grand manner well into the age of Neoclassicism.

De Mura's oil on canvas demonstrates the luminous palette and fluid brushwork of the late Neapolitan Baroque. The theatrical composition and graceful figure arrangement reflect both Solimena's dramatic approach and the lighter touch of the emerging Rococo sensibility.