In The Family of Darius before Alexander, how is the Provenance and assessment discussed?
The Family of Darius before Alexander was the only painting mentioned by Goethe in the account of his 1786 visit to Venice. He admired the painting during his stay at the Palazzo Pisani Moretta, and repeated the legend that the picture was painted by Veronese in gratitude for the Pisanis' hospitality. Supposedly the enormous canvas was painted at the villa in secret, and rolled up and left under a bed when the artist departed; the account has since been regarded as fanciful.According to recent scholarship, the painting was first owned by Francesco Pisani, and housed at the Villa Pisani in Montagnana, a building designed by Palladio. The canvas was probably moved to Venice after 1629, when the Pisani family purchased a palace on the Grand Canal. It was so esteemed that in 1664 agents of Christina, Queen of Sweden attempted to negotiate its purchase with the Venetian ambassador to Rome. The asking price of 5,000 ducats was considered excessive, and effectively discouraged all prospective buyers. As a result, copies of the painting were in demand, one of which was valued by its owner at 80 ducats.Charles Lock Eastlake, the director of the National Gallery, examined the painting in Venice on October 14, 1856. At a time when the British Empire would have found the painting's idealizations reflective of its presumptions, and after four years of negotiations, the museum bought the painting for 13,650 pounds.  The price was thought exorbitant, and in July 1857 the purchase was debated in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, when Lord Elcho attacked the painting as a "second- rate specimen".John Ruskin called it "the most precious Paul Veronese in the world". Henry James wrote in 1882:You may walk out of the noon-day dusk of Trafalgar Square in November, and in one of the chambers of the National Gallery see the family of Darius rustling and pleading and weeping at the feet of Alexander. Alexander is a beautiful young Venetian in crimson pantaloons, and the picture sends a glow into the cold London twilight.
Henry James Pisani family Villa Pisani Grand Canal Goethe Palladio Christina, Queen of Sweden Lord Elcho Francesco Pisani John Ruskin left National Gallery Palazzo Pisani Moretta House of Commons of the United Kingdom London Charles Lock Eastlake