Suicidio di Cleopatra (c.1621)

Guercino (1591-1666)

Suicidio di Cleopatra (Suicide of Cleopatra)
c.1621
Oil on canvas, 116.8 x 93.3 cm
Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena

Guercino gained the attention of influential patrons with his vigorous naturalism, flickering light effects, and grace of expression. He was in Rome during the brief pontificate of Gregory XV (1621-23), and there produced a number of important works, including “The Suicide of Cleopatra.”

The tragic stories of the queens and heroines of antiquity were popular with Baroque painters, because they contained equal measures of drama, pathos and eroticism. From this remarkable history, Guercino focused on the single, tense moment when Cleopatra, having taken the asp from the basket of figs, is about to raise it to her breast where it will deliver the fatal bite. The dynamic chiaroscuro, supple modelling, and unusual color harmonies give his work its passionate appeal. (Norton Simon)

See also:

Cleopatra (69-30 BC) | Egypt