A king introducing a young crowned man

The sheet depicts a portion of a larger composition, Philip presents his son Alexander to Aristotle, known through an engraving by Arnold van Westerhout (1651-1725). When Alexander the Great (356-323 BC) was 13 years old, his father King Philip II of Macedon entrusted him to the philosopher Aristotle for two years to be educated. The scene shows King Philip in the palace, accompanied by three bodyguards, introducing his son to the philosopher and his companions (fig. 1; D. Bodart, L'Œuvre du graveur Arnold van Westerhout 1651-1725. Essai du catalogue raisonné, Brussels, 1974, no. 138). The print was published in 1690 and used as the frontispiece to the thesis written by Giovanni Filingerio on the occasion of a philosophical debate held at the Collegio Romano. The thesis was dedicated to Cardinal Pietro Ottoboni, nephew of Pope Alexander VII.

Westerhout’s engraving carries captions that identify him as the printmaker, Andrea Lucatelli (1695-1741) as the draftsman, and Ciro Ferri as the inventor of the composition. Lucatelli often created intermediary drawings in preparation for prints, yet the present sheet does not exactly correspond to the engraved version and does not bear signs of having been used to transfer the image to the copper plate. Another drawing related to this rare iconography is a sketchy pen and ink study in Düsseldorf, published as a first idea for the entire composition by Ciro Ferri (J. Merz, Pietro da Cortona und sein Kreis Die Zeichnungen in Düsseldorf, Berlin, 2005, no. 100, ill.).

Fig. 1. Arnold van Westerhout, Philip presents his son Alexander to Aristotle. Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando, Madrid.