Caitlyn – Still Analysis

 

This image exemplifies a sense of power and confidence for Cleopatra. She is posed alluding to the painting "Sleeping Venus" by Giorgione from 1510, which could've been used to enforce that she views herself as a goddess--especially since Venus is a goddess of love, fertility, and femininity. 

The lighting is dimmed around the edges and brightest in the center where she is, putting attention on her even when she's lowest in the frame. The walls around her and the costumes of her servants are all darker, but the bed she lays on is an off-white shade brighter than the rest, making her the point of most contrast and appear brightest. Her dress is also the only one with gold/glitter on it, besides the occasional jewelry piece from the servant in the back. 

The camera is also at eye-level and farther back, letting the viewer see the full scale of how provocative she's appearing, yet staying connected to her as she speaks and looks (slightly seductively) at Caesar. The shot includes the 6 servants aiding her to flaunt her lavishness at him, as she is trying to live up to the eccentric and promiscuous stereotypes he knows of her.

Comments

  1. DrKSeptember 14, 2023 at 5:02 PM

    Neat! I had no idea that Cleopatra's pose here is alluding to a painting:
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleeping_Venus_%28Giorgione%29
    Did you figure that out yourself, or did you find that somewhere else?
    I definitely find the idea tempting, especially as regards the seductiveness of the pose. Now, however, that I have looked at the "Sleeping Venus" painting, I also see the pronounced differences. I'm not only talking about the fact that Giorgione shows Venus in full frontal nudity, whereas Cleopatra appears in some kind of flimsy negligee. Cleopatra also has turned her body so that she presents her backside, not her front, to Caesar and the viewers in the theater. To me, that pose and our viewpoint down onto her is reminiscent to the pose Cleopatra assumed after Caesar had rolled her out of her carpet. I think this scene is supposed to echo that earlier scene, except this time Cleopatra has chosen to face Caesar in this way, whereas before, she only ended up in this position because Caesar turned to carpet around before he unrolled it.

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