In 1661, Le Brun received his first commission from Louis XIV for The Family of Darius before Alexander (or The Tent of Darius) in which the qualities of the artist's mature style appear fully developed. The hero is Alexander with whom the King admitted some similarity. Alexander the Great (356 BC-323 BC) was the military genius who created an empire that stretched across three continents. Alexander was to be the theme of the next series of work commissioned by the King from Le Brun immediately after the Tent of Darius.

Louis XIV commissioned four huge canvases illustrating the victories of Alexander. These works (executed between 1665 and 1673) were intended to be cartoons for tapestries which were later woven at Gobelins manufactory in Paris. The series consists of: Alexander Entering Babylon (or The Triumph of Alexander); The Battle of Arbela; Crossing the Granicus; and Alexander and Porus. An allusion to the grandeur of the reign of Louis XIV - who was also a great conqueror and powerful monarch - is evident in the paintings.

The four works, later reproduced as tapestries, were part of the collections of Louis XIV. The cartoons are in the Musée du Louvre, while the tapestries can be found in the Musée du Louvre, in the Château du Versailles, and in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna.

Preview	Picture Data	File Info	Comment
	Alexander Entering Babylon, or The Triumph of Alexander 1670s Tapestry Château, Versailles	1200*736 True Color 242 Kb
	Alexander Entering Babylon, or The Triumph of Alexander 1665 Oil on canvas, 450 x 707 cm Musée du Louvre, Paris	1284*850 True Color 218 Kb
	The Battle of Arbela 1669 Tapestry Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna	1300*826 True Color 235 Kb
	The Battle of Arbela 1669 Oil on canvas, 470 x 1265 cm Musée du Louvre, Paris	2184*900 True Color 236 Kb
	Crossing the Granicus 1665 Tapestry Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna	1200*702 True Color 210 Kb
	Crossing the Granicus 1665 Oil on canvas, 470 x 1209 cm Musée du Louvre, Paris	1900*861 True Color 235 Kb
	Alexander and Porus 1670s Tapestry Musée du Louvre, Paris	1200*757 True Color 235 Kb
	Alexander and Porus 1673 Oil on canvas, 470 x 1264 cm Musée du Louvre, Paris	1500*538 True Color 134 Kb
	Alexander and Porus (detail) 1673 Oil on canvas Musée du Louvre, Paris	1613*700 True Color 239 Kb
	The Family of Darius before Alexander 1660s Tapestry Château, Versailles	1200*866 True Color 237 Kb
	The Family of Darius before Alexander c. 1660 Oil on canvas, 164 x 260 cm Musée National du Château, Versailles	1500*994 True Color 237 Kb
	The Seasons: Autumn after 1664 Tapestry Mobilier National, Paris	894*770 True Color 174 Kb
	Louis XIV Visiting the Gobelins Factory 1673 Tapestry, 370 x 576 cm Musée National du Château, Versailles	1030*693 True Color 181 Kb
	Louis XIV Visiting the Gobelins Factory - Black chalk, 580 x 928 mm Musée du Louvre, Paris	1113*680 True Color 141 Kb