Advanced Search 
"Seigneur! Voyez ces yeux" (Cleopatra Discovered by Rodogune to Have Poisoned the Nuptial Cup)
Jean Joseph Taillasson (French, 1745–1809)
1791
Medium/Technique
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
138.1 x 185.4 cm (54 3/8 x 73 in.)
Credit Line
Charles H. Bayley Picture and Painting Fund
Accession Number1981.79
CollectionsEurope
ClassificationsPaintings
In this scene from a play by Pierre Corneille, the jealous queen Cleopatra (left), is exposed for plotting the murder of several family members, including the beautiful young princess, Rodogune (right). Taillasson’s history paintings mark a transition between Neoclassicism and Romanticism. Although his subjects, like this one, often refer to Classical history, the dramatic treatment of gesture reflects his interest in theater and points the way towards a new emphasis on emotion and subjective experience.
Signed
Lower right, on base of bench: Taillasson 1791
Provenance1791, exhibited by the artist at the Salon and sold to Auguste-Gabriel Godefroy (b. 1730 - d. 1813), Villetaneuse, France; April 2, 1794, Godefroy sale, Maison de Bullion, Paris, lot 28, sold for 1251 livres to Bouquet [see note 1]. 1801, purchased by a dealer who shipped it to Konstanz, Germany [see note 2]. 1981, sold by Norman Leitman (dealer), London, to the MFA. (Accession Date: April 15, 1981)
NOTES:
[1] Getty Provenance Index database, sale catalogue F-A1084. [2] According to Le port des lumières: la peinture à Bordeaux, 1750-1800 (exh. cat. Bordeaux, 1989), pp. 304-305, cat. no. 111.
NOTES:
[1] Getty Provenance Index database, sale catalogue F-A1084. [2] According to Le port des lumières: la peinture à Bordeaux, 1750-1800 (exh. cat. Bordeaux, 1989), pp. 304-305, cat. no. 111.