1743
oil
canvas
From the collection of National Gallery of Victoria
The Banquet of Cleopatra is a 1743 oil by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, a Rococo painting work, held at National Gallery of Victoria.
The painting shows a lavish banquet scene. In the foreground, a woman in a golden dress sits at a table with a man in a red robe. They are surrounded by other figures, some dressed in elaborate attire, while others wear more simple clothing. The background features a grand, classical-style building with columns and statues. A notable detail is the use of chiaroscuro, with strong contrasts between light and dark areas, adding depth to the scene. The artist's skillful use of light and shadow creates a sense of drama and tension. To learn more about the artist's use of chiaroscuro, explore the technique of chiaroscuro.
The Banquet of Cleopatra is a painting by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo completed in 1744. It is now in the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, Australia. The subject of the painting is a supposed historical banquet, hosted by Cleopatra for Marc Antony, and described by both Pliny's Natural History (9.58.119–121) and Plutarch's Lives (Antony 25.36.1). During this banquet Cleopatra takes an expensive pearl and dissolves it in her wine, prior to imbibing the drink. This is the first of three large paintings of the subject by Tiepolo. In addition to these, the much smaller oil studies or…
Source: wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
All three large paintings show the banquet taking place in the open air or in a loggia with a grand architectural setting but with the sky visible, and include a raised terrace closing off the back of the pictorial space. In the Palazzo Labia and Arkhangelskoye paintings (and the Paris and London modelli) there are steps in the foreground leading up to the dining table; although the Melbourne painting lacks these steps, the pattern of the marble floor gives a similar visual effect. Only the two or three main figures are seated, but various attendants stand around them. All the compositions…
Source: wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
The Melbourne painting was commissioned for Frederick Augustus III, Elector of Saxony, by his agent Francesco Algarotti. According to a letter of 1744 from Algarotti to Heinrich von Brühl (1700–1763), the Saxon chief minister, he saw it unfinished in Tiepolo's studio, where it had been commissioned by someone else, and persuaded Tiepolo to finish it for Dresden. It has been speculated that the original commissioner was the English "Consul Smith". It was acquired in 1764 by Catherine the Great in Amsterdam. The work remained in the collection of the Hermitage Museum in what was then Saint…
Read the full account in the museum source.
Source: wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, also known as Giambattista Tiepolo, was an Italian painter and printmaker from the Republic of Venice who painted in the Rococo style, considered an important member of the 18th-century Venetian school.
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