Cleopatra's Banquet, between 1742 and 1743 (oil)

Cleopatra's Banquet Tiepolo, Giambattista In this painting, Giambattista Tiepolo illustrated an episode from Cleopatra's life, recounted by Pliny the Elder in his "Historia Naturalis" (Book IX) and by Plutarch in his "Lives of Illustrious Men". This is the episode of the banquet offered by Cleopatra to Mark Antony in 41 BC, during which the queen, having told the triumvir that her feast would be the most expensive in history, melted a priceless pearl in a goblet of vinegar. Tiepolo chose to capture the moment when the queen shows the heavy, pearly pearl to her fascinated guests, Mark Antony, in full regalia and feathered helmet, and Lucius Plancus, the Roman consul, transformed here by the painter into an Asiatic potentate. Inventory number: J 104