Mount Athos Carved as a Monument to Alexander the Great

Mount Athos Carved as a Monument to Alexander the Great, painted in 1796, invites us to imagine a world where colossal monuments could be carved directly from nature. This intriguing painting, housed in the Art Institute of Chicago, presents a captivating scene. Imagine a verdant valley, a ribbon of river flowing through it, and nestled against the landscape, a mountain. But this is no ordinary mountain. Carved into its very side is the imposing figure of a man, presumably Alexander the Great himself. nn While we don't know the exact dimensions of the painting, the artist masterfully uses scale and perspective to convey the sheer magnitude of this imagined monument. The statue, rendered in profile with its left arm raised in a gesture of power or perhaps salutation, dominates the landscape, dwarfing the groups of people scattered throughout the valley.