The Family of Darius before Alexander

The kneeling woman addresses the man in armour and an orange cloak. He gestures towards himself in surprise. She has mistaken Alexander the Great’s friend Hephaestion for the conqueror himself. The woman is Sisigambis, mother of the defeated Persian king Darius III. Alexander visits the royal family after his victory and reassures her, promising that they will retain their royal treatment. Veronese lets the misunderstanding unfold through outstretched hands and turning heads. Painted in the 1560s, the scene gives an ancient story the clothing and display of Renaissance Venice. The family’s elaborate fabrics and the soldiers’ armour could have been recognised by the painting’s first audience. Architecture and a crowded retinue enlarge the encounter into a public spectacle. The picture probably belonged to the Venetian Pisani family, but the faces should not automatically be treated as portraits of them. Veronese reused some of these types elsewhere. Here, gestures give us the clearest route through the story, leading from mistaken identity to the victor’s response.