Sarcophagus of Alexander the Great

At the National Museum of Beirut, I had the rare privilege of being able to work anywhere in the building, and could place my mini-scaffold in front of whichever ancient piece struck my eye with its beauty. So I stood before the extraordinary marble Alexander Sarcophagus, day after day, and drew and painted on very big pieces of handmade rice paper (aquarelle paints from Sennlier, Paris Rives Gauche, and sparcely-added tempera for highlights).

The great warrior king in battle, war horses — how much I love to paint them — in all their fierceness and even, from so close-up, friezes of the classic egg-and-dart motif.