In the context of Cleopatra (Artemisia Gentileschi, Milan), explore the Subject matter of the Description.
The painting depicts Cleopatra, the Egyptian queen, alone in the moments before she commits suicide by submitting to a poisonous snakebite. A common theme for artists of the period, the artist may have drawn upon Plutarch's account which described her death from the bite of an asp. The pose is based upon that of an ancient statue now known as Sleeping Ariadne, which had been thought to represent Cleopatra wearing a snake-like piece of jewelry on her arm.
asp Plutarch Cleopatra Plutarch's Sleeping Ariadne