Cleopatra (1963 film) the only film ever to be the highest-grossing film of the year to run at a loss. It received nine nominations at the 36th Academy Awards including for Best Picture and won the highest four : Best Production Design (Color), Best Cinematography (Color), Best Visual Effects and Best Costume Design (Color). After the Battle of Pharsalus in 48 BC, Julius Caesar (Rex Harrison) goes to Egypt, under the pretext of being named the executor of the will of the young Pharaoh Ptolemy XIII (Richard O'Sullivan) and his sister Cleopatra (Elizabeth Taylor)'s father. Cleopatra convinces Caesar to restore her throne from
Cleopatra and Caesar (painting) a carpet"). The painting depicts the year 47 BC, when Cleopatra stands before Julius Caesar after Apollodorus, her servant, has just finished smuggling her into the palace inside a rug. The figures are shown approximately half life-size. Since the 1866 exhibition, the work has become known by other titles, such as "Cleopatra Before Caesar", and more recently, "Cleopatra and Caesar". The American Egyptomania project at George Mason University describes the painting as a classic example of Egyptomania, containing "sex, slavery, nudity, and decadence". Lucy H. Hooper called it a companion piece to Gérôme's earlier work, "Phryne before the Areopagus" (1861).