ALEXANDRE CABANEL (French, 1824-1889)

Details

ALEXANDRE CABANEL (French, 1824-1889)

Cléopatre essayante des poissons sur des condamnes a mort

signed ALEX CABANEL lower left--oil on canvas
34½ x 58¼in. (87.6 x 148cm.)

Provenance

Stuart Pivar, New York

Literature

P. Lambert, Salon de 1887, Paris, 1887, p. 46
G. Ollendorf, Salon de 1887, Paris, 1887, p. 15
C. Vento, Les Peintres de la Femme, Paris, 1888, pp. 210-211
A. Boime, Art Pompier, exh. cat., 1974, n.p. (introduction)
P. Bode, Femme Fatale, New York, 1979, pp. 28, 123, pl. 27 (illustrated in color)
P. Sager, "Femme Fatale", Zeitmagazin, no. 14, 28 Marz 1980, pp. 28-36 (illustrated in color)
"Cuando la Mujer Fatal Tiende sus Redes..." Donia, no. 78, pp. 26-29, (illustrated in color)
D. Rosenthal, Orientalism, The Near East in French Painting 1800-1880, Rochester, 1982, p. 94 (illustrated, fig. 95)
H. de Meulenaere, Ancient Egypt in Nineteenth Century Painting, Brussels, 1992, p. 99

Exhibited

Paris, Salon of 1887
Hempstead, Long Island, Hofstra University, The Emily Lowe Gallery, Art Pompier: Anti-Impressionism, 19th Century French Salon Painting, Oct. 22-Dec. 15, 1974, no. 18 (illustrated)
Rochester, N.Y., Memorial Art Gallery of the University of Rochester, Orientalism, the Near East in French Painting 1800-1880, Aug. 27-
Oct. 17, 1982, no. 9. This exhibition later travelled to Purchase, N.Y., Neuberger Museum, State University of New York College at Purchase, Nov. 14-Dec. 23, 1982.

Lot Essay

Cléopâtre essayante des poisons sur des condamnes à Mort is the crowning achievement in the long, illustrious career of Alexandre Cabanel. One of the favorite painters of Napoléon III, Cabanel was also a close friend of the other two giants of the French academic tradition, William Adolphe Bouguereau and Jean Léon Gérome. Cléopâtre was Cabanel's entry to the 1887 Paris Salon, and depicts a scene from the writings of Plutarch (Life of Antony, Chap. XXX). After the Battle of Actium, Cleopatra, sensing that the end of her glorious reign was at hand, decided to put an end to her life. Plutarch records that she tested various poisons on condemned slaves in order to see which deadly potion would deliver the least amount of pain and suffering. How vividly Cabanel has captured this memorable scene! Orchestrated like a stage set, the Queen of Egypt lounges on her throne which has been draped with the skin of a giant tiger. Cleopatra wears an exotic garment woven with rose, blue, green and golden threads, and is fanned by a beautiful slave girl. At her side is a pet leopard, his green eyes matching the feline expression of his mistress. In her right hand, she dangles two lotus flowers. Set against a colonnade decorated with an Egyptian frieze, the condemned slaves writhe in pain and are carried off after drinking their toxic mixtures.

Egyptology, and the resurgence of interest in Egypt during the first half of the 19th century, and especially the life of Cleopatra provided a popular subject for many contemporary painters. Cleopatra was frequently depicted on her barge, or as a centerpiece of a regal procession, but the most popular subject was her famous death, especially the version based on the deadly bite of the asp. However, Cabanel chose to diverge from the mainstream of Cleopatra subject matter. He has perfectly captured the personality of this notorious femme fatale as she contemplates her suicide. Cabanel's Cleopatra remains completely impassive while scenes of torture (and a premonition of her own end) are carried out at her feet. Even on the eve of her death, she is majestic and proud, never suffering, and still depicted as the erotic beauty that made her one of the most famous women in history.