Cleopatra's Banquet by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo Tissue Paper

Giovanni Battista Tiepolo - Cleopatra's Banquet, 1742-1743. Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (1696-1770), also known as Giambattista (or Gianbattista) Tiepolo, was an Italian painter and printmaker from the Republic of Venice who painted in the Rococo style, considered an important member of the 18th-century Venetian school. Tiepolo’s painting shows the dramatic moment at the end of Cleopatra’s sumptuous repast when, faced with a still scornful Mark Antony, she wins the wager by using her trump card. Removing one of a pair of priceless pearls that she wears as earrings, Cleopatra dissolves the pearl in a glass of vinegar and drinks it - an extravagance that causes Mark Antony to lose his bet.