Alexander de Grote en zijn hovelingen dansen naakt om het graf van Achilles c. 1655 - 1665

Leonaert Bramer created this drawing, Alexander the Great and his Courtiers Dancing Naked Around the Tomb of Achilles, sometime in the 17th century. The Dutch Republic, where Bramer lived, was a mercantile society, but its artists looked to classical antiquity for standards of taste and decorum. This drawing, made with pen and brush in grey ink, depicts a scene of homage to the Greek hero Achilles. But what are we to make of the strange detail that Alexander and his courtiers are naked? Are they emulating the athletic body of Achilles himself? This would be in keeping with the artistic customs of the time. Yet, we should also remember the social function of art. In a culture defined by the Protestant work ethic and mercantile capitalism, the ostentatious display of wealth and leisure would have seemed transgressive. To understand art we should remember that it is always connected to social and institutional contexts. Primary sources, such as letters and diaries, can tell us more.