Kopf einer Königin mit ägyptischem Kopfputz aus den _Königinnen zu Füßen Alexanders des Großen_ c. 1661

This is Charles Le Brun’s _Head of a Queen with Egyptian Headdress_, a drawing that forms part of the series ‘The Queens at the Feet of Alexander the Great’. Notice the queen’s upward gaze, accentuated by Le Brun’s use of line and shadow, capturing a moment of intense emotion. The face is built up with sanguine and grey chalk, evoking a sense of palpable, if not grotesque, form. Le Brun masterfully employs the semiotic language of his time. The Egyptian headdress is not merely decorative; it signifies power, wisdom, and the exotic allure of antiquity, a potent symbol in the visual rhetoric of the Baroque period. The queen's open mouth and widened eyes, rendered with dramatic flair, suggest a moment of realization. This piece invites us to consider how visual forms and cultural symbols converge to construct narratives of power, emotion, and historical memory.