Siemiradzki was declared the winner and awarded the big gold medal of the first merit,[7] entitling him to a six-year pensioner's trip abroad at the expense of the Academy of Arts.

[8][9] In the painting, art critic Vladimir Stasov pointed out "taste, strength, skill and extreme completeness in general", as well as the artist's conscientious study of the achievements of modern history and archaeology.

[11] Art historian Tatyana Karpova considered such distinctive features as "elegance of lines, clear silhouettes of figures, harmonious colouring" to be the merits of the canvas.

[12] Art historian Pavel Klimov posited that with this work the artist "showed to himself and to others that he has fully mastered the technical tools and is ready to embark on an independent road".

"[19] The gold medal of the second merit in the 1830 competition was awarded to the artist Jan Ksawery Kaniewski for his painting entitled Alexander the Great's Confidence in his Physician Philip.

[21] In a letter dated 24 January 1870,[Note 1] Siemiradzki wrote to his family: "At last we have been given a theme for the big gold medal, it is without doubt better than Diogenes; it is an episode from the life of Alexander the Great".

[31] As he was engaged in the production of the competition painting, Siemiradzki's financial situation deteriorated, as he had to give up private commissions, which had previously constituted a substantial source of his income.

[7] In a letter to his parents dated 4 September 1870, Siemiradzki reported that two days prior, he had already installed his canvas in the hall where the exhibition was to be held - "in a gilded frame and on a dark-coloured wall looks very good".

In a letter written by the artist to his parents at the end of October, he stated: "In a few days, i.e. on 4 November, there will finally be a ceremony with the distribution of awards, at which I will receive a medal, this is beyond any doubt; although there is nothing official, everyone knows about it.

"[34] In addition to the medal, Siemiradzki was bestowed with the title of Class Artist of the First Degree, entitling him to a six-year pensioner's trip abroad at the expense of the Academy of Arts.

His painting, entitled Confidence of Alexander the Great in his physician Philip during grave illness, is currently housed in the State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg (canvas, oil, 137 × 187 cm, inv.

A total of five works by Siemiradzki were presented in the art department of the exhibition: Alexander the Great's trust in Doctor Philip, Christ and Sinner, The Sword Dance, Orgy in the reign of Tiberius on the island of Capri and a reduced reproduction of Nero's Torches.

[49] In consequence of the post-revolutionary transformations that commenced in 1918, during the early 1920s the painting, whilst remaining within the same academic museum, was allocated to the collection of the Petrograd Higher Art and Technical Institute (VKhUTEIN).

The Russian Art Department's new space required the acquisition of two or three large-sized canvases to be displayed prominently on the end walls of the enfilade halls on the second floor, where they would be visible from a distance.

Instead, the Minsk museum was offered Siemiradzki's painting Alexander the Great's trust in Doctor Philip from the Tretyakov Gallery's funds, the format of which was even larger than Surikov's work.

[51] It put forth the argument that despite the numerous alterations that had occurred over the past six decades in the halls housing works of Russian art, Siemiradzki's painting remained one of the few that "did not change its location and never once left the walls of the museum for exhibitions".

[60] From the second half of the 17th century onward, subjects related to various episodes from the life of Alexander the Great became popular in Western European and then Russian art.

One important source was the Histories of Alexander the Great, a biography written in the first century AD by the Roman historian Quintus Curtius Rufus, which was repeatedly published in Russian.

According to Plutarch, only his physician Philip, "seeing the serious condition of the patient, put friendship above all else and considered it criminal not to share the danger with Alexander and not to exhaust - even at the risk to himself - all means".

Shortly before, Alexander received an urgent message from his commander, Parmenion, informing him that his physician had been bribed by Darius and would administer poison instead of medicine.

On his canvas, he accurately depicted antique fabrics, garments, footwear, and armour worn by warriors, as well as ornaments on carpets, and a black-figure vase placed on a table.

[64] Apparently, when painting it, Siemiradzki used a similar helmet from the academic collection created on the initiative of Alexey Olenin, president of the Academy of Arts from 1817 to 1843.

[67] The art historian Pyotr Gnedich noted the harmonious colouring of Siemiradzki's canvas, dominated by light violet and orange tones.

In comparison to Siemiradzki's earlier graphic works, Stasov asserted that the painting demonstrated the artist's proficiency in utilizing color with a level of precision and nuance comparable to that of a black pencil, and had "a considerable ability for effect in colours".

Acknowledging the low level of mental expressiveness, Stasov recognized "taste, strength, skill and extreme completeness in general", as well as the artist's conscientious study of the achievements of modern history and archaeology, in the painting.

Among the shortcomings of the painting, Kovalevsky identified the disproportionate size of Alexander's bent knee and the selection of a simplistic and unremarkable type for his head.

[38] Art historian Pavel Klimov called Alexander the Great's trust in Doctor Philip "the earliest of Siemiradzki's significant works" and wrote that it was difficult to expect "a bright creative individuality" in this painting, which was essentially an examination task.

Nevertheless, qualities such as "careful thoughtfulness of composition" and "great attention to the expressiveness of each detail", which were evident in this painting, became a characteristic feature of the artist's later work.

[13] Art historian Tatiana Karpova considered such distinctive features as "elegance of lines, clarity of silhouettes of figures, harmonious colouring" to be the merits of the canvas Alexander the Great's trust in Doctor Philip .

According to Karpova, this work proved Siemiradzki to be "a talented student of the academic school, absorbing the precepts of classicism", which, in Russian painting, are associated with the names of Karl Bryullov, Fyodor Bruni and Alexander Ivanov.