Gabriel Revel was born in 1642 in the town of Chateau-Thierry in the province of Champagne. Although the name of his father is unknown, his profession was that of a ‘painter-glazer’ so the young Gabriel would no doubt have learnt the basic skills to become an artist in his father’s studio from an early age. Little is known of Revel’s early career however by 1671 he was working on the decorative schemes at Versailles and Gobelin under Charles le Brun, indicating his skill was great enough to be considered one of the finest artistic talents of the day.

In 1683, Gabriel became a member of the Royal Academy after submitting his portraits of François Girardon and Michel Anguier. This success led to a number of commissions outside of Paris in the provinces, especially Dijon which he travelled to regularly until moving there permanently in 1692 after the death of Le Brun. Revel clearly took artistic influence from the fashions of the day using bold colours and fine detail to create highly decorative works. His Group Portrait, dated 1686 in the Portland Art Museum shows the central figure, much like the painting of Cleopatra in question, looking upwards wrapped in a rich blue drapery wearing jewel encrusted clothing. This type of decoration and composition would have had a base in Le Brun’s historical works and would almost certainly have been a style Revel developed whilst working on the decoration at Versailles.

Whilst in Dijon, Gabriel painted virtually without competition and further circulated the style of historical painting popularized at Versailles by Le Brun. One of his most significant commissions in Dijon is the ceiling painting of an Allegory of Justice, in the Chamber of Requests of the Parliament building, as well as painting a number of large scale works for other public buildings throughout Dijon.  

Gabriel married Jeanne Boudon and had four children, of which is second son Jean became one of the most important silk designers of the 18th century who had gained the reputation as ‘the Raphael of silk design’. Despite not having the universal reputation that some of his contemporaries such as Hyacithe Rigaud now possess, Revel was evidently an artist who, in his day, was well respected and admired for his ability to paint dramatic yet highly decorative works in-keeping with the tastes of the Court of Louis XIV.