Following models by Jean-André Rixens, 20th century

Following models of JEAN-ANDRÉ RIXENS (France, 1846-1925).
Spanish school, 20th century.
"The Death of Cleopatra".
Oil on canvas.
The original work, dated 1874, is preserved in the Museum of the Augustinians in Toulouse.
It presents restorations.
Measurements: 80,5 x 99 cm; 103 x 122 cm (frame).
This painting reinterprets in modern language the academicist canvas of Rixens conserved in the Museum of the Augustinians of Toulouse. Queen Cleopatra lies on her deathbed. Her nude body is as white as porcelain, and contrasts with the blackened skin of her maidservants. One of them lies with a theatrical gesture at her mistress' feet, expressing her grief, and another remains seated by the bedside. Her right arm fixes Cleopatra's tiara. Her face is directed towards the door, where a group of human silhouettes await, unrecognizable because they are submerged in the shadows. Behind the maid stands a statue of the goddess Isis. With this, Rixens wanted to symbolize Cleopatra's surrender to Marc Antoine in the afterlife. Another Egyptian symbol is the vulture, emblem of eternity. Stylistically, the painting in question does not emulate the orientalist academicism of the original, but deliberately flirts with naïve art, one of the avant-garde trends of the beginning of the century. The palette is dominated by intense colors of blue, white and red in contrast with sienna and amber shades that imbue the mythical interior scene with warmth.
Jean-André Rixens studied at the École supérieure des beaux-arts in Toulouse. From a humble family, he paid for his studies by painting commercial posters and making copies of works of art. In 1866, his painting "The Death of Alcibiades" won him a scholarship from the city of Toulouse. This allowed him to enroll at the École des beaux-arts in Paris, where he studied with the military history painter Adolphe Yvon. While there, he also worked for Goupil & Cie, where he specialized in reproductions of famous works. He also produced wood engravings and portraits for the Hachette publishing house. Jean-André Rixens painted "The Death of Cleopatra" in 1874. The canvas was exhibited at the Salon des Artistes Français in Paris that same year. The State became the owner and deposited it in 1875 at the Musée des Augustins in Toulouse, where it is currently exhibited in the Salon Rouge.