Cleopatra

This Cleopatra by Artemisia Gentileschi, dated to around 1620 and held in the Fondazione Cavallini-Sgarbi collection in Ferrara, shows the Egyptian queen at the moment of her suicide. For a long time it was attributed to Guido Cagnacci, which shows how much the authorship of Gentileschi's work has needed careful study. The figure is seated and partly undressed against a red background, her body arranged in a composition that balances sensuality, drama and suffering. Cleopatra brings the asp towards her breast, parts her lips and lifts her gaze in a theatrical gesture. The subject presents her as an example of virtue: she chooses death by the serpent's bite rather than endure public humiliation. Gentileschi painted four versions of this subject, one of which is now lost, suggesting that the theme held a sustained interest for her. The painting is notable for joining nudity, historical narrative and a female painter's perspective on a tragic heroine.

Painter

Artemisia Gentileschi

Date

1620

Medium

oil paint, canvas

Dimensions

97 × 72 cm

Museum

Cavallini Sgarbi Foundation, Riva del Po

Movement

Caravaggisti

Genre

nude, history painting

Depicts

suicide, sitting, waist-length hair, shoulder, drapery, overweight, navel, woman

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