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Scorn

Image credit: The National Gallery, London

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Given the title Scorn in 1727, this is one of a series of four paintings by Veronese that concern the trials and rewards of love, although their precise meanings remain unclear. The compositions are designed to be seen from below, so we know the pictures were intended for a ceiling or a series of ceilings.

A naked man is lying on a ruined classical structure. Cupid stands on the man’s chest and beats him with his bow, the string of which has snapped. Cupid seems to be chastising him for his devotion to hedonistic sexuality.

A bare-breasted woman looks down on him, apparently with disdain, as she is lead away by another woman holding an ermine, an emblem of purity and moderation, as well as of pregnancy and childbirth. The women may symbolise the interdependent earthly and divine aspects of love, while the man’s hedonistic sexuality is represented as inadmissible in a virtuous life.

The National Gallery, London

London

Title

Scorn

Date

about 1575

Medium

Oil on canvas

Measurements

H 186.6 x W 188.5 cm

Accession number

NG1324

Acquisition method

Bought, 1891

Work type

Painting

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Normally on display at

The National Gallery, London

Trafalgar Square, London, Greater London WC2N 5DN England

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