Cleopatra Testing Poisons on Condemned Prisoners
From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
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Artist | Alexandre Cabanel |
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Year | 1887 |
Type | oil on canvas |
Dimensions | 87.6 cm × 148 cm (34.5 in × 58 in) |
Location | Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Antwerp |
File:Alexandre cabanel - cléopatre (étude).jpeg
Study for the painting
Cleopatra Testing Poisons on Condemned Prisoners (Cléopâtre essayant des poisons sur des condamnés à mort) is an 1887 painting by the French artist Alexandre Cabanel. It is now in the Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Antwerp. It shows Cleopatra VII sitting at a banquet observing the effects of poisons on prisoners condemned to death.
Cabanel had always had a taste for historical and orientalist themes and when the painting was first seen by the Parisian public he was feted by the critics and showered with honours. Several international collectors attempted to buy the painting.