After Bernardo Strozzi il Cappuccino (Italian, 1581-1644)
Berenice II Euergetis, wife of Ptolemy III

oil on canvas
Unframed: 100.2 x 84.5 cm. (39 1/2 x 33 1/4 in.)

Private Collection, London

This work presents one of Strozzi’s favourite subjects, which he revisited multiple times, including a version housed at the Castello Sforzesco in Milan. Additional signed variants can be found in Los Angeles, Munich, Bologna, El Paso, and Stuttgart. Berenice II, a queen of Egypt in the 3rd century B.C., is renowned for the legend of "Berenice's Lock." When her husband, Ptolemy III, embarked on a military campaign to Syria, Berenice vowed to sacrifice a lock of her hair for his safe return. Upon his safe return, she dedicated her hair in the temple of Aphrodite at Cape Zephyrium in Alexandria. The next day, the lock was mysteriously gone. The court astronomer, Conon of Samos, proclaimed that Aphrodite had placed it among the stars, creating the constellation Coma Berenices. This tale was celebrated by poets like Callimachus and Catullus, highlighting Berenice's profound devotion.