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]
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]
Historyedit
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]
^ abLizares, Luci (February 17, 2010). . SunStar Bacolod. Archived from the original on February 26, 2010. Retrieved March 23, 2010.
^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.
^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.
^Vogeler, Sarah NH (December 17, 2017). "Bringing the past into the present". New Straits Times. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
^ abZulueta, Lito B. (November 16, 2017). "First exhibit of Luna's 'The Death of Cleopatra'". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
^ abZulueta, 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.
^Matilla, Dexter R. (March 4, 2019). "Salcedo Auctions to bid out 'boceto' of Luna's 'Cleopatra'". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
^"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.
^"The Death of Cleopatra" by Juan Luna, Juan Luna Hero of the Philippine Revolution, filipino.biz.ph
^"The Death of Cleopatra" by Juan Luna 2009-04-25 at the Wayback Machine, Juan Luna The Great Filipino Painter, library.thinkquest.com
^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
^"The Death of Cleopatra" (La Muerte de Cleopatra) by Juan Luna 2010-01-29 at the Wayback Machine, lopezmuseum.org.ph
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 linksedit
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
May 02, 2024
death, cleopatra, this, article, about, painting, juan, luna, event, death, cleopatra, works, titled, with, same, name, jean, andré, rixens, painting, edmonia, lewis, play, ahmad, shawqi, play, spanish, muerte, cleopatra, also, known, simply, cleopatra, 1881, . 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 Andre 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 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 Death of CleopatraSpanish La muerte de CleopatraArtistJuan LunaYear1881MediumOil on canvasDimensions250 cm 340 cm 98 4 in 132 in LocationMuseo del Prado Madrid 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 Contents 1 Description 2 History 3 See list 4 References 4 1 Bibliography 5 External linksDescription editThe 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 editLuna 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 Andre 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 of Singapore 18 See list editSpoliarium Espana y Filipinas Las Damas Romanas The Blood Compact Credits to Queen Samantha IIIReferences edit Juan Luna Kulay Diwa Gallery of Philippine Art Archived from the original on June 23 2010 Retrieved March 23 2010 Sanchez Gomez 2002 p 285 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 Pulido Natividad July 6 2021 El Prado desempolva su coleccion del XIX mas social mas internacional y con mas mujeres The Prado dusts off its 19th century collection more social more international and with more women ABC in Spanish Retrieved March 9 2022 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 Vogeler Sarah NH December 17 2017 Bringing the past into the present New Straits Times Retrieved March 9 2022 a b Zulueta Lito B November 16 2017 First exhibit of Luna s The Death of Cleopatra Philippine Daily Inquirer Retrieved March 9 2022 a b c d Valtierra Lacalle 2020 p 37 a b c d e f Rodriguez Gonzalez 2019 p 60 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 Valtierra Lacalle 2020 p 38 Matilla Dexter R March 4 2019 Salcedo Auctions to bid out boceto of Luna s Cleopatra Philippine Daily Inquirer Retrieved March 9 2022 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 The Death of Cleopatra by Juan Luna Juan Luna Hero of the Philippine Revolution filipino biz ph The Death of Cleopatra by Juan Luna Archived 2009 04 25 at the Wayback Machine Juan Luna The Great Filipino Painter library thinkquest com 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 The Death of Cleopatra La Muerte de Cleopatra by Juan Luna Archived 2010 01 29 at the Wayback Machine lopezmuseum org ph https www tatlerasia com lifestyle arts the best of juan luna Bibliography edit Rodriguez Gonzalez Lucia 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 Sanchez Gomez Luis Angel 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 Mitografia y manipulacion iconografica de la muerte de Cleopatra en la pintura occidental Mythography and Iconographic Manipulation of the Death of Cleopatra in the Western Painting Asparkia Investigacio 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 editImage 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 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Death of Cleopatra amp oldid 1221794777, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
