File:Byzantine Greeks Alexander Manuscript.JPG

English: A fourteenth-century miniature Greek manuscript depicting scenes from the life of Alexander the Great, depicted entirely in Byzantine fashion of the period. Late Byzantine period (1204-1453). “Alexander Romance” in S. Giorgio dei Greci in Venice.

When Candake heard how Alexander had subjugated those great kings, she sent a painter to draw the picture of Alexander secretly.

In this miniature the queen is depicted to the left, when she expresses her wish to the painter: the gesture with her left hand is particularly expressive, as well as the almost conspiratorial stares of the figures. The painter wears a conical hat with a pointed top, which is characteristic of his profession in this case. It is noteworthy that this hat, which occurs in the Byzantine painting since the 14th century, became particularly popular during the 15th century from the representations of Ioannis Palaeologos. In Italy this hat (capelletto alla greca) is depicted in the 15th century in the works of Piero della Francesca and it always indicates the origin of the person portrayed from the Byzantium. In the miniature the painter with a companion who wears a hat of the same type, depart on horseback to the right and another assistant follows them on foot, with his bag hung on his shoulder.