The family of Darius, King of Persia, kneel at the centre of the composition and are presented to Alexander the Great by a bearded old man. Alexander stands on the right; a page holds his shield and he is flanked by soldiers in armour. In the background is an architectural colonnade with people on top. The story of how Alexander the Great treated Darius's family magnanimously after defeating the King in battle is told in Plutarch's life of Alexander, Diodorus Siculus, Biblioteca Historica, Book 17, chapter 37 and Valerius Maximus, De Factis, Book 4, chapter 7.

This work is a much reduced and simplified copy of the famous Veronese painting of the subject in the National Gallery, London. The original hung in the Palazzo Pisani, Venice, during the eighteenth century, where it was influential and much copied.

The present picture appears in the 'Italian List' as by Ricci, but his authorship is not generally accepted. Some of the faces are too clumsy to be by Ricci, especially those of the central kneeling group, but the right-hand portion is of better quality, and it is not unreasonable to associate the picture, at least in part, with his studio. Conceivably it was originally executed with a view to engraving.