Alexander welcoming Thalestris and the Amazons 1525 - 1575

Master FG created this engraving "Alexander welcoming Thalestris and the Amazons" sometime between 1530 and 1560. It depicts a scene of encounter and negotiation between different worlds: Alexander the Great, embodying classical military prowess, and Thalestris, the Queen of the Amazons, who represents a realm of female warriors. The image encapsulates the 16th century’s fascination with antiquity, overlaid with early modern Europe’s own gendered and racial power dynamics. The Amazon queen was often presented as both powerful and ‘other’, fitting into early modern desires to explore cultural boundaries. Consider how the engraving portrays both Alexander and Thalestris as figures of authority, yet it also hints at the exoticization of the Amazonian queen, whose power is both admired and made strange. What does it mean to imagine worlds where women hold sway, especially in a time when patriarchal structures were so firmly entrenched? The emotional and intellectual charge of this image lies in its negotiation of power, gender, and the allure of the unknown.