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Venus and Cupid

Photo credit: The National Gallery, London

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Notes

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Venus, the goddess of love, leans against a leafy tree while her son Cupid, the god of desire, tries to get her attention. Clutching a stolen honeycomb, he complains as bees swarm and sting him – but Venus is uninterested in her son. Instead, her attention is directed towards us.

The Latin inscription on the tree trunk explains Venus' lack of concern for her son, as well as the moral of the picture: brief and fleeting pleasure is mingled with sadness and pain. It alludes to the sting of Cupid’s arrows of love, which cause a more enduring agony than any bee sting.

Cranach painted numerous versions of this subject; there’s another in the National Gallery’s collection, Cupid complaining to Venus. His depictions, which combine a moralising message with blatant eroticism, were especially popular with his patrons.

The National Gallery, London

London

Title

Venus and Cupid

Date

1529

Medium

oil on wood

Measurements

H 38.1 x W 23.5 cm

Accession number

NG6680

Acquisition method

gift from the Drue Heinz Charitable Trust, 2018

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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