Willem van Haecht: Apelles Painting Campaspe (1630)

(Mauritshuis, The Hague, The Netherlands)

A painting by the Flemish artist Willem van Haecht (1593-1637). The title of this piece refers to the scene in the left corner. According to a story from classical antiquity, Alexander the Great commissioned the artist Apelles of Kos to make a portrait of Campaspe, one of his mistresses. The painting was so beautiful that Alexander thought it could take the place of Campaspe. As a token of appreciation, Alexander presented Campaspe to Apelles as a gift. The rest of the entire scene is what is called an 'art room' which shows existing Flemish, German and Italian works of art. Painting from 1630.