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Lot Essay
Together with both his masters Sebastiano Conca and Francesco Trevisani, Andrea Casali formed the Roman counterpart to the great Venetian history painters of the 18th century like Sebastiano Ricci and Giovanni Battista Tiepolo. After his initial training he received important commissions in Rome from Pope Benedict XIII and Cardinal Pietro Ottoboni, but he also painted important works for patrons abroad. He supplied decorations for the royal palace of La Granja de San Ildefonso near Madrid and in 1741 he even left Rome to travel to England via Paris. In England he was much sought after, providing large religious and profane history pieces to decorate churches and country houses. In 1766 he returned to Rome.
The present composition possibly dates from the last phase of his initial period in Rome, a few years befor he left Italy. He first painted large scale themes from ancient history for the aforementioned Spanish commission in 1735. Soon after he must have started work on The family of Darius before Alexander the Great. The story is told by Plutarch. Although Darius' himself fled, his family, his mother, wife and two daughters were captured by Alexander, who treated them honoroubly and kind. The subject was often treated as an example for good government, a similar moral as the Constinence of Scipio.
A smaller version (oil on canvas, 47.5 x 64 cm.), signed and dated 1737, was offered for sale at Sotheby's, New York, 11 October 1990, lot 84.
The present composition possibly dates from the last phase of his initial period in Rome, a few years befor he left Italy. He first painted large scale themes from ancient history for the aforementioned Spanish commission in 1735. Soon after he must have started work on The family of Darius before Alexander the Great. The story is told by Plutarch. Although Darius' himself fled, his family, his mother, wife and two daughters were captured by Alexander, who treated them honoroubly and kind. The subject was often treated as an example for good government, a similar moral as the Constinence of Scipio.
A smaller version (oil on canvas, 47.5 x 64 cm.), signed and dated 1737, was offered for sale at Sotheby's, New York, 11 October 1990, lot 84.