Alexander the Great trust to physician Phillip

🇵🇱 Poland 🏛️ Neoclassicism & Academic Art

Why it's great

Alexander the Great calmly drinks medicine given to him by his doctor Philip, even though he has been told that it may be poison. Henryk Siemiradzki, a Polish painter in Rome, shows the king's trust in a friend. The picture is about courage and loyalty. It's a famous history painting.

🏛️ Part of history

Alexander the Great (336–323 BC) — Alexander calmly drinks the medicine his doctor Philip offers, even after being warned that Philip might be poisoning him, a famous story about trust.

Where to see it

📍 Belarusian National Arts MuseumMinsk, Belarus

Open in Maps ↗

Hang it on your wall

⬇ Hi-res download 1,692 × 1,200 px · 2.0 megapixels This is the largest scan on Wikimedia Commons, which is fairly small for a big print. The museum that owns it may offer a larger one. File page & license ↗

Three places to look for a print of this painting, from budget to museum-grade:

💵 Budget Etsy ↗ Posters and simple prints from small sellers, usually the lowest prices. 🖼️ Mid-range Fine Art America ↗ Good printing on paper, canvas or metal, made to order, with framing options. 🏛️ High-end Meisterdrucke ↗ Museum-grade giclée prints on archival paper or canvas, the closest to the real thing.

These links open search results on each shop's own website; we don't sell anything or earn a commission, and print quality varies by seller. Ask a grown-up before you buy anything.

About the artist

Henryk Siemiradzki

1843–1902 · born in Pechenihy · died in Strzałków, Łódź Voivodeship

Henryk Siemiradzki was born in what is now Ukraine to a Polish family and studied in Saint Petersburg, Munich and Rome. He lived mainly in Rome, where he painted giant, sunny pictures of ancient Greece and Rome. He was one of the most successful painters in Europe. He died in 1902.