Artwork
The Death of Cleopatra
The Death of Cleopatra is an oil painting by the Early Baroque Italian artist Guido Cagnacci. It dates from 1660 and is held in the collection of the Pinacoteca di Brera.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
This composition serves as a visual translation of Plutarch's historical account, a narrative that gained significant traction during the Baroque era.
Guido Cagnacci's painting depicts the suicide of Cleopatra VII, capturing the moment following the bite of an asp. The Egyptian queen is portrayed seated in a red armchair against a darkening grey background, her gaze directed outward toward the viewer. Iconographically, the work emphasizes her exposed breasts, where a venomous snake slides between her right arm and the chair's armrest, while another asp on the opposite armrest appears to stare at her face. This composition serves as a visual translation of Plutarch's historical account, a narrative that gained significant traction during the Baroque era. The imagery focuses on the physical reality of death and the sensual vulnerability of the corpse, utilizing the contrast between the lifeless body and the active serpents to dramatize the final moments of the ruler.
Technique & Style
Executed around 1660 during Guido Cagnacci's mature period at the court of Emperor Leopold I in Vienna, this work is an oil painting on canvas measuring 120 by 158 cm. The artist's signature is inscribed at the base of the left armrest of the chair depicted within the composition. Stylistically, the horizontal format presents a history painting featuring a gray background that darkens toward the lower right corner. The central figure of Cleopatra is seated in a red fauteuil, her gaze directed outward toward the viewer as a venomous snake slides between her right arm and the seat. The composition adheres closely to Plutarch's narrative of the suicide, capturing the moment of the asp's bite with a focus on the queen's exposed torso and the serpent fixing its gaze upon her face.
History & Provenance
Guido Cagnacci painted *The Death of Cleopatra* around 1660 to 1662 during his tenure at the court of Emperor Leopold I in Vienna. This work represents the artist's mature phase and bears his signature at the base of the left armrest of the throne. The painting remained in Vienna, where a related version depicting the queen surrounded by attendants is also held at the Kunsthistorisches Museum. The Milanese version was later acquired through the donation of Alberto Saibene, entering the collection of the Pinacoteca di Brera in Milan in 1960. A third variant of the subject is noted in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
The painting is housed in the Pinacoteca di Brera in Milan, Italy, where it has been part of the collection since a 1960 donation by Alberto Saibene. It is catalogued under the inventory number 1960.1.1. The work was created circa 1660 in Vienna, where Guido Cagnacci completed the piece during his final years at the court of Emperor Leopold I. An earlier version of the composition, showing Cleopatra surrounded by attendants, is held by the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, while a second version is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
Context
The Death of Cleopatra (c. 1660) marks a pivotal moment in Guido Cagnacci's mature period, developed during his final years at the Viennese court of Emperor Leopold I. This history painting, housed in the Pinacoteca di Brera, depicts Cleopatra VII in the instant of suicide, seated in a red armchair as a venomous aspic viper approaches her bare breast, a composition drawn directly from Plutarch's narrative and rendered with striking physical realism. Cagnacci produced multiple versions of this subject; one variant featuring Cleopatra surrounded by six attendants is held by the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, while another entered the Metropolitan Museum of Art collection. The work exemplifies Baroque fascination with dramatic, morally charged moments from antiquity, blending sensuality and mortality through its meticulous rendering of drapery, anatomy, and symbolic elements like the serpent and throne.
Artist & collection
Artist
Guido Cagnacci (Italian:; 13 January 1601 – 1663) was an Italian Baroque painter originally from Santarcangelo di Romagna.
