The Death of Cleopatra

1881 painting by Juan Luna

This article is about the painting by Juan Luna. For the event, see Death of Cleopatra. For works titled with the same name, see The Death of Cleopatra (Jean-André Rixens Painting) and Edmonia Lewis. For the play by Ahmad Shawqi, see The Death of Cleopatra (play).

The Death of Cleopatra

Spanish: La muerte de Cleopatra
Artist| Juan Luna
Year| 1881
Medium| Oil on canvas
Dimensions| 250 cm × 340 cm (98.4 in × 132 in)
Location| Museo del Prado, Madrid

The Death of Cleopatra (Spanish: La muerte de Cleopatra),[1] also known simply as Cleopatra,[2] is an 1881 oil painting on canvas by the Filipino painter Juan Luna, currently on display at the Museo del Prado in Madrid, Spain. Depicting the death of Cleopatra, the last active ruler of ancient Egypt, the painting was painted during Luna's stay in Rome, and later won a silver medal during the 1881 National Exposition of Fine Arts in Madrid, which was also his first art exposition.[3]

The painting, one of only three pieces by Filipino artists on permanent display at the Prado,[4] is notable both for its composition and its history. Painted during a time of increased national consciousness, The Death of Cleopatra not only served as a representation of a colonized people standing up against their colonizer,[5] but also brought to attention the ability of Filipino artists, and particularly Luna himself, to surpass their European contemporaries.[6]

## Description

[edit]

The Death of Cleopatra depicts Cleopatra moments after her death, with Luna taking inspiration for the painting's composition from Plutarch's account of her life in his Parallel Lives series.[7] Her corpse is found at the center of the painting, lying on a bed adorned with a golden headboard and covered with rich bedsheets,[8] with the sheets themselves decorated with hieroglyphs and the footboard similarly adorned in gold. Cleopatra herself is bejeweled and dressed in a manner befitting that of an Egyptian queen,[9] and smoke coming from a nearby lamp, said to contain incense,[9] hovering above her body signifies that she had died,[10] giving the piece a mysterious aura.[8] While Cleopatra is clothed, the cloth above her belt and around her breasts is transparent, playing into the popular concept of an "eroticized" Cleopatra that is common in other works of the era depicting her death.[11]

Two servants in various states of collapse are also present in the painting,[8] with the first, Iras, already dead by Cleopatra's feet.[9] The second, the dark-skinned Charmion, is seen falling after she adjusts Cleopatra's diadem, dying shortly thereafter.[9] Meanwhile, the asp that reportedly caused Cleopatra's death is seen by the foot of one of the room's columns,[9] barely visible as it slithers away.[7]

The setting for The Death of Cleopatra is funerary in nature, indicated by the various decorations in the room such as the sphinx by the footboard, canopic jars by the headboard, the lamp and even the columns decorated with hieroglyphs.[9] A statue of Anubis is also present in the background, foreshadowing what was to come.[8]

## History

[edit]

Luna first began work on The Death of Cleopatra in his then-studio on Via Margutta in Rome, where he had lived since moving to the city in 1878 with his master, Alejo Vera.[10] A study (boceto) for what would become the final painting was created in 1880, modeled on an 1874 painting of the death of Cleopatra by the French painter Jean-André Rixens.[12] Unlike the final piece, the boceto was sold for ₱9.3 million at an auction by Salcedo Auctions in March 2019.[13]

Because of the exposure, Luna received a pension scholarship at the Ayuntamiento de Manila.[3] After the painting competition, Luna sold it for 5,000 Spanish pesetas,[14] the highest price for a painting at the time.[15] As Luna's "graduation work", The Death of Cleopatra was acquired by the Spanish government[16] for one thousand duros.[17]

After its last appearance in 1887, the painting was again shown to the public 130 years later in 2017 at the National Gallery Singapore.[18]

## See also

[edit]

* Spoliarium
* España y Filipinas
* Las Damas Romanas
* The Blood Compact

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Juan Luna". Kulay Diwa Gallery of Philippine Art. Archived from the original on June 23, 2010. Retrieved March 23, 2010.
2. ^ Sánchez Gómez 2002, p. 285.
3. ^ a b Lizares, Luci (February 17, 2010). "Lizares: The passionate Juan Luna". SunStar Bacolod. Archived from the original on February 26, 2010. Retrieved March 23, 2010.
4. ^ Pulido, Natividad (July 6, 2021). "El Prado 'desempolva' su colección del XIX: más social, más internacional y con más mujeres" [The Prado "dusts off" its 19th-century collection: more social, more international and with more women]. ABC (in Spanish). Retrieved March 9, 2022.
5. ^ Lacuesta, Sarge (February 28, 2019). "History and Cleopatra: What You Need to Know About the Latest Juan Luna Boceto". Esquire Philippines. Summit Media. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
6. ^ Vogeler, Sarah NH (December 17, 2017). "Bringing the past into the present". New Straits Times. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
7. ^ a b Zulueta, Lito B. (November 16, 2017). "First exhibit of Luna's 'The Death of Cleopatra'". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
8. ^ a b c d Valtierra Lacalle 2020, p. 37.
9. ^ a b c d e f Rodríguez González 2019, p. 60.
10. ^ a b Zulueta, Lito B. (October 7, 2020). "This Juan Luna painting hadn't been shown in public since 1887 – until a Singapore museum displayed it in 2017". Mabuhay. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
11. ^ Valtierra Lacalle 2020, p. 38.
12. ^ Matilla, Dexter R. (March 4, 2019). "Salcedo Auctions to bid out 'boceto' of Luna's 'Cleopatra'". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
13. ^ "Luna's study of "Death of Cleopatra" sells for Php 9.3 million at auction". ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs. March 15, 2019. Retrieved September 15, 2019.
14. ^ "The Death of Cleopatra" by Juan Luna, Juan Luna Hero of the Philippine Revolution, filipino.biz.ph
15. ^ "The Death of Cleopatra" by Juan Luna Archived 2009-04-25 at the Wayback Machine, Juan Luna The Great Filipino Painter, library.thinkquest.com
16. ^ Ocampo, Ambeth R. (Chairman, National Historical Institute of the Philippines) "The Death of Cleopatra" by Juan Luna, from the article "Las Damas Romanas (Roman Maidens) by Juan Luna (The Philippines 1857–1899)", Christie's, Department Information, Southeast Asian Modern and Contemporary Art, christies.com
17. ^ "The Death of Cleopatra" (La Muerte de Cleopatra) by Juan Luna Archived 2010-01-29 at the Wayback Machine, lopezmuseum.org.ph
18. ^ "Mad or Genius? 7 of Juan Luna's Most Intriguing Works and Their Meaning".

### Bibliography

[edit]

* Rodríguez González, Lucía (2019). Iter romanum textis et pictis: un recorrido por la historia de Roma en los textos antiguos y en las obras del Museo del Prado [Iter romanum textis et pictis (The Woven and Painted Roman Journey): a journey through the history of Rome in old texts and in the pieces of the Museo del Prado] (PDF) (in Spanish). Complutense University of Madrid. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
* Sánchez Gómez, Luis Ángel (2002). "Indigenous art at the Philippine Exposition of 1887: Arguments for an ideological and racial battle in a colonial context" (PDF). Journal of the History of Collections. 14 (2). University of Oxford: 283-294. doi:10.1093/jhc/14.2.283. ISSN 0954-6650. Retrieved March 26, 2010.
* Valtierra Lacalle, Ana (2020). "Mitografía y manipulación iconográfica de la muerte de Cleopatra en la pintura occidental" [Mythography and Iconographic Manipulation of the Death of Cleopatra in the Western Painting]. Asparkía. Investigació Feminista (in Spanish). 37 (37). Jaume I University: 27-49. doi:10.6035/asparkia.2020.37.2. eISSN 2340-4795. hdl:10234/194844. ISSN 1132-8231. S2CID 230559826. Retrieved March 9, 2022.

## External links

[edit]

* Image of The Death of Cleopatra by Juan Luna at superstock.com
* Image of The Death of Cleopatra by Juan Luna at isidore-of-seville.com
* The Death of Cleopatra on the official website of the Museo del Prado
* Other paintings by Luna at flickr.com

* v
* t
* e

Juan Luna

Works|

* Spoliarium
* El Pacto de Sangre
* La Muerte de Cleopatra
* La Batalla de Lepanto
* La Bulaqueña
* The Parisian Life
* La Madrileña (En el Balcón)
* Mi Novia
* Tampuhan
* Peuple et Rois
* Ecce Homo
* Las Damas Romanas
* Ensueños de Amor
* Daphne and Chloe
* Hymen, oh Hyménée!
* Odalisque

Series|

* Chula series
* España y Filipinas
* Peuple et Rois (Sketches)

Related|

* Paz Pardo de Tavera (wife)
* Andrés Luna de San Pedro (son)
* Antonio Luna (brother)
* Joaquin Luna (brother)

* v
* t
* e

Museo del Prado

Buildings

* Villanueva building
* Casón del Buen Retiro
* Hall of Realms
* Cloister of Saint Jerome

Paintings

| Spanish|

* Esquivel: José de Espronceda
* Gisbert: Execution of Torrijos and his Companions on the Beach at Málaga
* Goya: Allegory of Industry – Asmodea – Atropos – Blind Man's Bluff – Boys Playing Soldiers – Charles IV of Spain and His Family – Los caprichos – Christ Crucified – The Clothed Maja – The Colossus – The Countess of Chinchon – Los disparates – The Dog – The Drunk Mason – The Duchess of Alba and la Beata – Fight with Cudgels – Josefa Bayeu – Judith and Holofernes – La Leocadia – Man Mocked by Two Women – La novillada – Portrait of the Marchioness of Santa Cruz – Men Reading – The Milkmaid of Bordeaux – The Naked Maja – The Parasol – A Pilgrimage to San Isidro – Pilgrimage to the Fountain of San Isidro – Saturn Devouring His Son – The Second of May 1808 – Self-Portrait at 69 years – Summer – The Third of May 1808 – Two Old Men – Two Old Ones Eating Soup – The Victorious Hannibal Seeing Italy from the Alps for the First Time – Witches' Flight – Witches' Sabbath (The Great He-Goat)
* El Greco: The Nobleman with his Hand on his Chest – Adoration of the Shepherds – Doña María de Aragón Altarpiece – Annunciation – Christ Carrying the Cross – The Fable – The Flight into Egypt – Holy Face of Jesus – Holy Trinity – Julián Romero and Saint Julian – Portrait of a Doctor – Portrait of a Gentleman – Portrait of a Young Nobleman – Portrait of an Elderly Man – Portrait of an Unknown Gentleman – Portrait of Jerónimo de Cevallos – Portrait of Rodrigo Vázquez de Arce – Saint Andrew and Saint Francis – Saint Anthony of Padua – Saint Bernardino of Siena [1] – Saint James the Great – Saint John the Evangelist – Saint Paul – Saint Sebastian – Saint Thomas the Apostle – Holy Trinity – The Saviour – Virgin Mary
* Luna: The Death of Cleopatra
* Maíno: Adoration of the Magi – Portrait of a Gentleman – The Recovery of Bahía de Todos los Santos
* Murillo: Adoration of the Shepherds (1650) – Aranjuez Immaculate Conception – The Christ Child and the Infant John the Baptist with a Shell – Christ on the Cross (1675, 1677) – The Conversion of Saint Paul – The Good Shepherd – The Holy Family with a Little Bird – The Immaculate Conception of El Escorial – The Immaculate Conception of Los Venerables – The Martyrdom of Saint Andrew – Our Lady of the Rosary – The Patrician's Dream – Rebecca and Eleazar
* Pradilla: Doña Joanna the Mad
* Ribera: Jacob's Dream – Democritus – Isaac and Jacob – Ixion – Tityos – The Martyrdom of Saint Philip – The Blind Sculptor
* Sánchez Gallque: The Mulattos of Esmeraldas [2]
* Velázquez: Las Meninas – The Triumph of Bacchus – Las Hilanderas – The Surrender of Breda – Mars Resting – Equestrian Portrait of Philip IV – Equestrian Portrait of Elisabeth of France – Equestrian Portrait of Prince Balthasar Charles – Equestrian Portrait of Philip III – Equestrian Portrait of Margarita of Austria – Equestrian Portrait of the Count-Duke of Olivares – Adoration of the Magi – Apollo in the Forge of Vulcan – Christ Crucified – Coronation of the Virgin – View of the Garden of the Villa Medici – Prince Balthasar Charles as a Hunter – Portrait of the Infante Don Carlos – Doña Antonia de Ipeñarrieta y Galdós and Her Son Don Luis – The Jester Barbarroja – The Jester Calabacillas – The Jester Don Diego de Acedo – The Jester Don John of Austria – Portrait of Francisco Lezcano – Infanta Margarita Teresa in a Pink Dress – Portrait of Maria Anna – Portrait of Juan Martínez Montañés – The Nun Jerónima de la Fuente – Portrait of Pablo de Valladolid – Portrait of Philip IV in Armour – Portrait of Mariana of Austria – Portrait of Sebastián de Morra
* Zurbarán: Agnus Dei – The Death of Hercules – The Defence of Cádiz Against the English – Hercules and the Hydra – Hercules Separates Mounts Calpe and Abylla – Hercules Fighting the Nemean Lion – Saint Elizabeth of Portugal – Saint Luke Painting the Crucifixion – Saint Peter Nolasco's Vision of Saint Peter the Apostle – Still Life with Pots – The Vision of Saint Peter Nolasco

|

Dutch,
Flemish,
German|

* Anonymous: The Fountain of Life
* Baldung: The Ages and Death
* Bosch: The Garden of Earthly Delights – Adoration of the Magi – Cutting the Stone – The Haywain Triptych – Head of a Halberdier – The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things – The Temptation of St Anthony
* Bouts: Triptych with Scenes from the Life of the Virgin
* Bruegel the Elder: The Triumph of Death – The Wine of Saint Martin's Day – Excursion in the Countryside of Infanta Isabel Clara Eugenia – Life in the Countryside – The Infanta Isabel Clara Eugenia in the Mariemont Park (with de Momper) – Landscape (with de Momper) – The Five Senses (with Rubens)
* Campin: Marriage of the Virgin – Werl Triptych
* de Crayer: Caritas Romana (1625)
* David: Rest on the Flight into Egypt
* Dürer: Adam and Eve – Self-Portrait
* van Dyck: Self-portrait with Sir Endymion Porter – The Betrayal of Christ – The Brazen Serpent – Diana and a Nymph Surprised by a Satyr – Saint Rosalia – The Crowning with Thorns
* van Hemessen: The Surgeon
* Francken the Younger: The Sciences and the Arts
* Jordaens: Apollo as Victor over Pan – Meleager and Atalanta – The Painter's Family
* Memling: Adoration of the Magi
* Mengs: Portrait of José Nicolás de Azara
* de Momper: Landscape with Sea and Mountains – A Farm – Flemish Market and Washing Place – Landscape with Skaters – The Infanta Isabel Clara Eugenia in the Mariemont Park (with Brueghel the Elder) – Landscape (with Brueghel the Elder)
* Patinir: Landscape with Charon Crossing the Styx
* Rembrandt: Judith at the Banquet of Holofernes
* Rubens: The Judgement of Paris (1638) – The Three Graces – Adoration of the Magi – The Dance of the Villagers – Diana and Callisto – Equestrian Portrait of the Duke of Lerma – The Fall of Man – The Garden of Love – The Birth of the Milky Way – The Rape of Europa – The Rape of Ganymede – Saint George and the Dragon – Saturn – The Triumph of the Church – Deucalion and Pyrrha – The Five Senses (with Brueghel the Elder)
* Stom: The Incredulity of Saint Thomas
* Strobel: Feast of Herod with the Beheading of St John the Baptist
* Teniers the Younger: Archduke Leopold Wilhelm in his Painting Gallery in Brussels (1651)
* Verhaecht: Alpine Landscape
* van der Weyden: The Descent from the Cross – Durán Madonna

Italian|

* Fra Angelico: Annunciation
* Anguissola: Portrait of Elisabeth of Valois – Portrait of Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia [3] – Portrait of Giovanni Battista Caselli
* Barocci: Nativity
* Bellini: Madonna and Child with Saint Mary Magdalene and Saint Ursula
* Botticelli: The Story of Nastagio Degli Onesti, part one
* Caravaggio: David and Goliath
* Carracci: Assumption of the Virgin – Mural Paintings from the Herrera Chapel – Venus, Adonis and Cupid
* Correggio: Noli me tangere – Madonna and Child with the Infant John the Baptist
* A. Gentileschi: The Birth of Saint John the Baptist
* O. Gentileschi: The Finding of Moses (1633)
* Leonardo: Mona Lisa (by his studio)
* Lotto: Portrait of Marsilio Cassotti and His Bride Faustina
* Mantegna: Death of the Virgin
* Parmigianino: Holy Family with Angels – Portrait of Camilla Gonzaga and Her Three Sons – Portrait of Pier Maria Rossi di San Secondo – Saint Barbara
* Raphael: Portrait of a Cardinal – Christ Falling on the Way to Calvary – Madonna of the Rose – Visitation – La Perla (with Romano)
* Romano: Holy Family under an Oak Tree
* Andrea del Sarto: Sacrifice of Isaac
* Tintoretto: Christ Washing the Disciples' Feet – Joseph and Potiphar's Wife – Judith and Holofernes (by his studio) – The Washing of the Feet
* Tiepolo: The Immaculate Conception
* Titian: The Bacchanal of the Andrians – Equestrian Portrait of Charles V – The Fall of Man – Alfonso d'Avalos Addressing his Troops – Danaë Receiving the Golden Rain (1565) – The Entombment – La Gloria – Virgin and Child Between Saints Anthony of Padua and Roch – Mater Dolorosa with Clasped Hands – Philip II in Armour – Portrait of Charles V with a Dog – Portrait of Federico II Gonzaga – Portrait of Isabella of Portugal – Sisyphus – Tityus – Religion saved by Spain – Salome \- Self-Portrait (1567) – Saint Margaret and the Dragon – Venus and Adonis (1554) – Venus and Musician (1550, 1555) – The Virgin and Child with Saint George and Saint Dorothy – The Worship of Venus
* Veronese: Venus and Adonis – Christ Among the Doctors – The Finding of Moses

French|

* Anonymous: Agony in the Garden
* Baudry: The Pearl and the Wave
* van Loo: The Family of Philip V (1743)
* Lorrain: Landscape with St Paula of Rome Embarking at Ostia – The Ford – Landscape with St María de Cervelló – Landscape with the Burial of St Serapia – Landscape with the Finding of Moses – Landscape with the Temptation of St Anthony – Landscape with Tobias and Raphael
* Poussin: Parnassus – Landscape with Three Figures – Saint Cecilia
* Ranc: The Family of Philip V (1723) – Portrait of Ferdinand VI as a Boy
* Watteau: Marriage Contract and Country Dancing
* Vouet: Time Defeated by Love, Beauty and Hope

Other|

* British paintings

Sculptures

| Rome|

* The Apotheosis of Claudius
* Castor and Pollux

|

* [1] On display at El Greco Museum in Toledo
* [2] On display at Museo de América in Madrid
* [3] On display at the Spanish Embassy in Paris

* Category

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