Alexander Entering Babylon

A dense crowd fills a broad, arcaded city square, with a richly decorated chariot and mounted riders advancing through the throng toward the viewer. Elephants, horses and people in classical dress press along the edges, while towers and colonnades rise in the background. The drawing uses brown ink and gray wash over red chalk, with crisp outlines and soft tonal shading.

Look closer: A small figure stands on a high pedestal at the left edge, above the crowd beside the arch.

Artist

Sébastien Leclerc I

Date

n.d.

Medium

Pen and brown ink, brush and gray wash over red chalk. Several corrections on separate pieces of paper, pasted onto original sheet.

Source

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Size

3874 × 2386 px

Credit (appreciated, not required for public-domain works): The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Rogers Fund, 1961