Alexander the Great trust to physician Phillip

Alexander the Great Trusts His Physician Philip, painted in 1870 and now in the Belarusian National Arts Museum, was one of Siemiradzki's early ambitious history paintings, completed while he was still completing his training at the Imperial Academy in Saint Petersburg. The subject — drawn from Plutarch and Quintus Curtius — describes the moment Alexander, warned by letter that his physician Philip was plotting to poison him, chose to drink the medicine while simultaneously handing Philip the accusatory letter. The episode was a celebrated example of Macedonian courage and trust in ancient literature and had been treated by earlier European painters including Charles LeBrun. For a young painter establishing his reputation, choosing a subject with such a distinguished pedigree was a calculated assertion of ambition. The composition gave Siemiradzki the opportunity to develop the multi-figure historical scene format he would master in his Roman subjects.

Oil on canvas, the composition stages the critical moment through the figures' contrasting reactions: Alexander's composed confidence as he drinks, Philip's visible alarm or protestation as he reads the letter. Academic technique is used to differentiate the two protagonists — Alexander's regal costume and bearing versus Philip's physician's dress and anxious expression. The setting, likely a Macedonian tent or palace interior, provides a controlled light environment for the figures.