Alexander the Great's Entry into Babylon

Within the space of no more than three months in 1812, Bertel Thorvaldsen executed a one-metre high and 35-metre-long relief frieze for the papal Palazzo del Quirinale in Rome on the occasion of the Emperor Napoleon’s planned visit to the city. The frieze is one of Thorvaldsen’s most outstanding works, and the motif is homage to Napoleon, the subject of which was Alexander the Great’s Triumphal Entry into Babylon. This motif was chosen as an ancient parallel to Napoleon’s arrival in Rome. The Alexander Frieze ensured Thorvaldsen’s position as one of the leading artists in Europe. Thorvaldsens Museum possesses the full-sized frieze both as an original model and as a plaster copy, and there is also a smaller marble version of the frieze in the museum (inv.no. A508).