Alexander de Grote doodt Orsodates c. 1655 - 1665

Leonaert Bramer made this drawing, "Alexander the Great killing Orsodates," using pen and brush with gray wash, and white gouache, sometime in the 17th century. The support is prepared with a blue ground, which is typical of Bramer. Look closely, and you can see how the artist has used the gray wash to create a sense of depth and shadow, while the white gouache highlights certain details, like the glint of metal on the soldiers' armor, and on the executioner's arrow as it finds its mark. This combination of materials and techniques gives the drawing a sense of drama and immediacy, as if we are witnessing the event firsthand. The blue paper amplifies this effect, because it is an unusual choice that lends the scene a cool, spectral quality. It reminds us that while this is a depiction of power, it is also a meditation on mortality, and the weight of command. Bramer had the technical facility to achieve a photorealistic depiction, but he was interested in something much more evocative and unsettling.