Artwork

Queen Cleophis Offers Alexander the Great Wine after Conquering Massaga

Queen Cleophis Offers Alexander the Great Wine after Conquering Massaga is an oil painting by the Rococo painting artist Gerard Hoet. It dates from 1701 and is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum.

About this work

Subject & Meaning

The painting depicts a historical encounter between Queen Cleophis and Alexander the Great following the Macedonian conquest of Massaga.

The painting depicts a historical encounter between Queen Cleophis and Alexander the Great following the Macedonian conquest of Massaga. According to the source, the work portrays Cleophis, a woman, Alexander the Great, and a man, centering on the queen's act of offering wine to the conqueror after his victory.

The scene draws on the ancient tradition of presenting a cup to a victorious general as a gesture of submission and hospitality, a motif that in European painting typically signaled both the vanquished party's capitulation and the conqueror's magnanimity. By staging a female sovereign formally receiving a male conqueror, the composition frames Alexander as a figure of civilizing power while casting Cleophis as a dignified intermediary between her defeated people and the new ruler.

Gerard Hoet's choice of this episode reflects the early eighteenth-century interest in morally instructive subjects drawn from classical history, where episodes of clemency and exchange between rulers served as models of princely virtue.

Technique & Style

The work is executed in oil paint on a wooden panel and measures 32.5 cm by 41 cm. It portrays Cleophis presenting wine to Alexander the Great, a composition rendered in a restrained, narrative style typical of early 18th‑century Dutch painting. The brushwork remains relatively controlled, emphasizing clear outlines and a balanced arrangement of figures rather than expressive handling.

History & Provenance

The painting was executed in 1701 by Gerard Hoet as an oil on panel work commissioned by Adriaan Leonard van Heteren Gevers. It entered the collection of the Rijksmuseum and has remained in the museum's custody since acquisition, currently displayed in Rijksmuseum Twenthe. The artwork measures 32.5 cm in height and 41 cm in width.

Its provenance traces directly from the original patron to the Rijksdienst Beeldende Kunst, then to the Rijksmuseum, and finally to its present location within the Rijksmuseum Twenthe branch.

The painting is housed in the Rijksmuseum collection and is catalogued under the inventory number SK-A-1765. It was owned by Adriaan Leonard van Heteren Gevers before entering the museum. The work has been part of exhibitions at the Rijksmuseum, including those focused on Dutch Golden Age paintings.

Overview

Gerard Hoek, a Dutch painter active in the early eighteenth century, completed an oil on canvas in 1701 that portrays a historic encounter between Alexander the Great and the Indian queen Cleophis. The work is part of the Rijksmuseum’s collection and illustrates a moment of diplomatic hospitality following the capture of the fortified city of Massaga.

Context

The subject draws on accounts of Alexander’s Indian campaigns, particularly the episode in which the queen of the Massaga tribe, Cleophis, is said to have offered wine to the Macedonian king. Such narratives were popular in the Enlightenment era, reflecting contemporary fascination with antiquity and the exotic East, and they provided artists with dramatic, morally charged scenes.