CAGNACCI, Guido
(b. 1601, Sant'Arcangelo di Romagna, d. 1682, Wien)

The Death of Cleopatra

1658
Oil on canvas, 140 x 159,5 cm
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

This work from the end of his Viennese period is a broader reworking of the theme of the female nude that Cagnacci had so sensually explored on several occasions. Such works were unsurprisingly popular.

Suggested listening (streaming mp3, 14 minutes):
Jules Massenet: Cleopatra, Cleopatra's aria