# Cleopatra’s Banquet

- By: Gerard de Lairesse (Liège, 1641–1711)
- Date: c. 1675 - c. 1680
- Medium: canvas, oil paint (paint)
- Classification: painting
- Dimensions: height 74 cm x width 95.5 cm
- Credit line: H.A. Insinger-van Loon Bequest, Amsterdam
- Museum: [Rijksmuseum](https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/collection/object/SK-A-2115--38f213caae4fd233d7103aa688997489)
- Rights: [Public Domain Mark](http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/)
- Picture: https://invisiblenetwork.ai/thumbs/web/4234180d5f354ed76e60e4ce0b950e51.jpg
- Who can see it: Adult profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

Who could throw the most lavish banquet? This was the bet between the Egyptian pharaoh Cleopatra and the Roman general Mark Antony. Cleopatra won the wager by dissolving a pearl in vinegar and then drinking the mixture. In this painting, she is just removing her earring. De Lairesse painted this story like a scene from a play, with antique costumes and classical architecture.