Cleopatra Pleading with Caesar

A pen and brown ink drawing with brown wash shows a seated woman with a laurel-like crown and a standing armored man in a red-brown cloak, set in a draped interior with a vaulted arcade behind. She gestures toward him while a sword and a scroll lie at the lower right. The framing ruled border and sepia tones give the sheet a classical, theatrical feel.

Artist

Felice Giani

Date

ca. 1820

Medium

Pen and brown ink, brown wash, over black chalk, ruled border in pen and brown Support: thick white wove paper

Source

Smithsonian (Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum)

Size

2813 × 4000 px

Credit (appreciated, not required for public-domain works): Smithsonian Institution, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum