Alexius Comnenus Appearing before the Doge

The Chamber of the Great Council in the Doge’s Palace in Venice was redecorated within less than three years after a disastrous fire in 1577. The new decorations included wall paintings that depict key episodes in the history of Venice. This oil sketch for one of these much larger paintings—Byzantine Emperor Alexios IV Angelos requesting help from Doge Enrico Dandolo against his uncle, Emperor Alexios III—celebrates Venice’s might during the height of its power in the Middle Ages (about 400–1400).