Title: Great and Campaspe

Artist: Giambattista Tiepolo

Alexander the Great and Campaspe in the Studio of Apelles About 1740 Giambattista Tiepolo Italian, 1696–1770 Oil on canvas Taken from Pliny’s Natural History, this love story celebrates the power of the art of painting. Apelles, court artist to Alexander the Great, fell in love with Alexander’s concubine, Campaspe, as he painted her portrait. When Alexander saw the sheer beauty of the finished work, he realized that it was infused with the artist’s love and granted Apelles the hand of Campaspe. Through opulent color and virtuoso brushwork, Tiepolo emphasized that he is the heir to Apelles’s supreme artistry.