Maurycy Trębacz (1861 Warsaw - 1941 Lodz), Cleopatra

oil, canvas, 68 × 55.5 cm
Signed p. g.: "Maurycy Trębacz".

In the surviving painting output of Maurycy Trębacz, most are landscapes and portraits - the latter are considered the best in his oeuvre. In this group, bourgeois portraits predominate; the artist often painted images of people on commission. A special place is occupied by portraits of anonymous beauties of oriental beauty. These are depictions emanating sensuality, sensuality. To this group can undoubtedly include the presented painting "Cleopatra".
The figure of the historical queen of Hellenistic Egypt, Cleopatra has intrigued and inspired many artists for centuries. Her figure appears on the canvases of many painting masters. These included portraits glorifying her divine beauty, or scenes from her life. Most often she was depicted as a temptress, a ruler proficient in the art of seduction, the embodiment of the femme fatale. Special attention was focused on the dramatic scene of her legendary suicidal death. This was also the moment captured in his portrait of Cleopatra by Maurycy Trumpeter. The scene is filled with a dramatic, tense atmosphere. Here the artist captured the moment just before the venomous snakebite in the breast of the beautiful queen. The woman's body emerges from the dark background; her body shines in an alabaster glow. She, in a gesture of surrender, covers her face with her hand, leans back and waits for the fatal blow.