Sick Alexander the Great and his Physician Philippos

Hans Wertinger often worked for Duke Ludwig X of Bavaria. Dated 1517, the iconography of the Prague work shows that the person who commissioned it - perhaps Ludwig himself, or one of his courtiers - admired the ancient hero, Alexander the Great. Vividly, the painting depicts a story from his life, as it was recorded in the ancient biographies. The sick Alexander trustingly accepts a medicine from his physician Phillipos, despite the warning letter he received a moment before, informing him that he would get a lethal poison instead of a healing potion. As we can see, the ruler refused the information with a decisive gesture and rightfully trusted his physician.