Antony And Cleopatra By Nikolaas Verkolje (delft 1673 - Amsterdam 1746) Oil On Canvas

Nikolaas Verkolje was born in Delft on April 11, 16731. Son of Jan Verkolje, he is, according to Arnold Houbraken, the only one of his five children to have devoted himself to the arts. Houbraken tried to write a biographical sketch for Nikolaas, but he died before completing the third volume of the Grand Theater of Dutch Painters, which contains a notice of his father. He and his brother Jan II became painters, both pupils of their father. Active since 1700, Nikolaas in turn had several students such as Arnout Rentinck (1712 - 1774), Jan Maurits Quinkhard (1688 - 1772) and Jan Matthias Kok (it) (1720 - 1771) 1.Nicolaas Verkolje died in Amsterdam January 21, 1746. This scene of meeting between Cleopatra and Antony is probably located after the battle of Actium in 30 BC. Indeedn after the assassination of Caesar, gradually, Octavian becomes the master of the West and the equal of Antoine in what is no more than a duumvirate after the ousting of Lepidus in 36 BC. From then on, Antoine more than ever needs Cleopatra in the propaganda war which precedes the final confrontation. In 34 BC. AD, in Alexandria, he announced a reorganization of the East as part of a new dynasty that can be described as Ptolemo-Caesarean. In reality, this family's vocation is to govern the entire Empire. Indeed, the originality is that Cleopatra, mistress of the late Caesar, is now presented as his wife and the young Ptolemy XV as their son. The very nickname of "Césarion" given to the child is an idea of Antoine. Thus, he cleverly erects Caesar as the founder of a Greco-Roman dynasty, and becomes his successor at the head of the Empire as in the alcove of the queen. The Ptolemo-Caesarean family poses as a rival to Caesar's adopted son. The sword will cut in 31 BC. AD, during the Battle of Actium which marks the beginning of Octavian's triumph over his enemy. The declaration of Alexandria makes the alliance of Tarsus indissoluble. The destinies of Antoine and Cleopatra are linked for eternity, beyond the death they give themselves in 30 BC. AD during the final surrender of Egypt.