Bust of Alexander the Great

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The iconic image of the legendary Macedonian king Alexander the Great has captivated artists and spectators for centuries. Described by Arrian as a "strong, handsome commander with one dark eye like the night sky and one blue eye like the open sky", the mysterious hero launched a series of military and political conquests throughout India, Mesopotamia, and Asia Minor, spreading Hellenic culture across three continents and shaping a vast empire that forever altered the ancient world's dynamics. The widely recognizable sculptural portrait of Alexander as the inspired ruler, characterized by his youthful, beardless face and his unruly leonine hair swept upwards from the forehead (anastole), was first established by Lysippus. Plutarch notes that "it was only this artist who thought it fitting that he should be modeled". Nothing remains of this Greek sculptor's body of work, but an existing Roman copy known as The Azara Herm, now in the Louvre, is considered to be the closest likeness to the original Lysippan portrait of the King. Scanned at Sotheby's London Old Masters Sculpture & Works of Art Sale on July 6th, 2017.