Cagnacci, Guido (1601-1663)
Morte di Cleopatra (The Death of Cleopatra)
after 1659
Oil on canvas, 153 x 169 cm
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna
Inscribed at the bottom right of the armrest support: GVIDO CAGNAZZI
The last queen of Egypt, Cleopatra, let herself be bitten by a venomous snake to avoid the disgrace of being led through Rome in the emperor Augustus’ triumphal procession. At the end of his life, Cagnacci was court painter in Vienna. Two opposing painting concepts are combined in this picture, the sharply observing realism of the expressive servants, and the classic posture of the calm and collected seated queen. (KHM)
Compare:
Cagnacci, Guido (1601-1663)
La Morte di Cleopatra
c.1645–1655
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Cagnacci, Guido (1601-1663)
Morte di Cleopatra
1660–1662
Pinacoteca di Brera, Milano