The painting was commissioned by Marco Marazzoli (1602-1662), court musician of the Barberini family, who donated the work to his patrons as a sign of gratitude. In an atmosphere full of desire, the painter constructs the scene of a baroque melodrama, presenting us the sovereign of Egypt as the woman for whose love Marco Antonio renounced Rome and domination over the world. It is the culminating moment of the tragedy, in which the heroine, in order not to be exhibited as a war trophy, chooses suicide. Her eyes are wide open and her lips parted, but she is as sensual and seductive as the stereotype of her legendary beauty dictates. The shining perfection of the body - almost an ancient marble - wrapped in a fiery red cloth, stands out against a dark background, an anticipation of imminent death. The artist used the same model as the Venus playing the harp.