William Wetmore Story (American) b.1819-1895d.,Cleopatra 1858;this carving 1869.marble
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Neoclassical sculptors often drew upon mythology,history,the bible,and literature for their subject matter.Cleopatra exemplifies Story's penchant for depicting famous-or infamous-personalities from history as they contemplate past deeds or forthcoming actions of cataclysmic significance.Here,Cleopatra the last Macedonian ruler of Egypt meditates suicide;the asp curled around her left arm predicts her death from its venomous bite.Story renders his figures on a monumental scale and payed specific attention to archaeological exactitude in their props and costumes.Cleopatra wears the nemes or royal headcloth,topped with the uraeus or cobra headdress
William Wetmore Story (American) b.1819-1895d.,Cleopatra 1858;this carving 1869.marble
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Neoclassical sculptors often drew upon mythology,history,the bible,and literature for their subject matter.Cleopatra exemplifies Story's penchant for depicting famous-or infamous-personalities from history as they contemplate past deeds or forthcoming actions of cataclysmic significance.Here,Cleopatra the last Macedonian ruler of Egypt meditates suicide;the asp curled around her left arm predicts her death from its venomous bite.Story renders his figures on a monumental scale and payed specific attention to archaeological exactitude in their props and costumes.Cleopatra wears the nemes or royal headcloth,topped with the uraeus or cobra headdress