Cleopatra: A Cultural Chameleon - How was Cleopatra portrayed through art, particularly the Renaissance?

For nearly 2,000 years Cleopatra VII has been an infatuation of societies and a bewitching conundrum for historians. She has drawn the attention of artists working in either genre and has been portrayed in every medium. The significance of Cleopatras bequest is the score of representations of her, many of which carry a great address of political, social, and racial weight, and all of which have been debated. There is still no consensus on her appearance, actions, or intentions. Each image of Cleopatra provides clues to the nature of the culture in which it was produced. In this paper I will give the Renaissance to exemplify the ability of Cleopatras conception to be change by a society in order to unpatterned its viewpoints.

During the Renaissance unprecedented shifts were occurring in political, social, and religious ideologies. Reconstructions of Cleopatra from this era cost these changes and reflect the conflicting philosophies of society. The Renaissance followed the Middle Ages, a time in which all aspects of bearing were permeated by Catholicism. Throughout this period, the Roman Catholic Church reigned supreme and governed all aspects of societys daily life through its Christian dogma. All art of the Middle Ages reflected the high-priced ideologies of the time and was solely related to Catholicism .



However, several factors take away to the decline in the power of the Roman Catholic Church. The violate of feudalism, the threat of invasion by the Ottoman Empire, the beginning of the big Schism, and the bubonic plague all contributed to the deterioration in the credence of Catholicism . This political, social, and religious turmoil prompted society to embrace a new humanist rationale, and thus the Renaissance began.

Humanism was the spirit and get to life that embodied the Renaissance. Up until the latter Middle Ages, more or less all art focused...

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