After a design by Justus van Egmont (1601–1674)
Produced at the workshop of Willem van Leefdael (1632–1688)
Brussels
Caesar Sends a Messenger to Cleopatra from The Story of Caesar and Cleopatra
INV-1425
After a design by Justus van Egmont (1601–1674)
Produced at the workshop of Willem van Leefdael (1632–1688)
Brusselsc. 1680
Caesar Sends a Messenger to Cleopatra from The Story of Caesar and Cleopatra
After a design by Justus van Egmont (1601–1674) Produced at the workshop of Willem van Leefdael (1632–1688) Brussels →weaving - tapestrytextile
Date
c. 1680
Medium
Wool and silk, slit and double interlocking tapestry weave
Warp: Count: 8 warps per cm; wool: S-ply of three Z-spun elements; diameters: o.6–0.8 mm
Weft: Count: varies from 18 to 42 wefts per cm; wool: S-ply of two Z-spun elements; pairs of S-ply of two Z-spun elements; diameters: 0.4–1.2 mm; silk: pairs and three yarns of S-ply of two Z-twisted elements; diameters: 0.7–1.2 mm; wool and silk: paired yarns of S-ply of two Z-spun wool elements and S-ply of two Z-twisted silk elements; diameters: 0.8–1.2 mm
Dimensions
310.1 × 363.8 cm (122 1/8 × 143 1/4 in.)
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Location
Chicago, IL
Credit
Gift of Mrs. Chauncey McCormick and Mrs. Richard Ely Danielson
This tapestry is from the Art Institute's suite of 14 hangings depicting events from the lives of Julius Caesar, Mark Antony, and Cleopatra, whose intertwined love affairs and conflicts have provided material for storytellers from Roman times to the present day. After Caesar defeated Pompey, his rival for control of the Roman Republic, Pompey fled to Egypt, pursued by Caesar. In Egypt Pharaoh Ptolemy XIII was fighting a civil wat against his sister, wife, and co-regent, Cleopatra VII. Ptolemy had Pompey murdered, offending Caesar, who then involved himself in the Egyptian civil war. Caesar deposed Ptolemy and sought an alliance with Cleopatra. Depicted here is Cleopatra receiving Caesar's messenger, the beginning of their alliance and love affair.
Also notable
Works in the same vein
Cleopatra Asked to Pay Tribute to Rome from The Story of Caesar and Cleopatra
After a design by Justus van Egmont (Flemish, 1601–1674) Produced at the workshop of Willem van Leefdael (1632–1688) Brussels
The Battle of Actium from The Story of Caesar and Cleopatra
After a design by Justus van Egmont (1601–1674) Woven at the workshop of Willem van Leefdael (1632–1688) Brussels
