Venus and Cupid

Venus and Cupid

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Summary

Description: Venus and Cupid

Author: William Edward Frost

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Licensing

Its copyright has expired. This applies to the United States, Canada, the European Union and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 70 years.

Venus, Cupid, Folly and Time

Venus, Cupid, Folly and Time

Artist: Angelo Bronzino (1503–1572)
Title: Venus, Cupid, Folly and Time [Allegory of the Triumph of Venus]
Deutsch: Allegorie des Triumphes der Venus
Français : Allégorie du triomphe de Vénus
Italiano: Allegoria del trionfo di Venere
Year: 1540-1545
Technique:
Deutsch: Öl auf Holz
Français : Oil on wood
Français : Huile sur bois
Italiano: Olio su tavola
Dimensions: 146 × 116 cm (57.48 × 45.67 in)
Current location: National Gallery, London

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Venus, Cupid, Folly, and Time - also referred to as An Allegory of Venus and Cupid and A Triumph of Venus - is an allegorical painting by the Florentine artist Agnolo Bronzino now in the National Gallery, London.

Around 1546, Bronzino was commissioned to create a painting which has come to be known as Venus, Cupid, Folly, and Time. It displays the ambivalence, eroticism and obscure imagery which is characteristic of the Mannerist period, and of Bronzino's master Pontormo.

The painting may have been commissioned by Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany or by Francesco Salviati, to be presented by him as a gift to Francis I of France. Vasari wrote that it was sent to King Francis, though he does not specify by whom. The erotic imagery would have appealed to the tastes prevalent in both the Medici and French courts at this time. The attention to texture and wealth is also consistent with Bronzino's aristocratic patronage. The figure of Venus can be likened to a precious object (such as a marble statue) in a luxurious setting, desirable because of her unavailability.

Crowded into the claustrophobic foreground of the painting are several figures whose identities have been the subject of extensive scholarly debate. The themes of the painting appear to be lust, deceit, and jealousy. At times it has also been called A Triumph of Venus. Its meaning, however, remains elusive. Cupid, along with his mother Venus and the nude putto to the right, are all posed in a typical Mannerist figura serpentinata form.

The two central figures are easily identified by their attributes as Venus and Cupid. For example, she holds the golden apple she won in the Judgement of Paris, while he sports the characteristic wings and quiver. Both figures are nude, illuminated in a radiant white light. Cupid fondles his mother's bare breast and kisses her lips. Even more bizarre is the subtle element of Venus's tongue; she appears to be on the verge of slipping it into Cupid's mouth. This tiny detail was evidently the most scandalous aspect of all and at least one previous owner had it painted out over the years. Cupid appears to be nearing adolescence—notably older than the cherubic Cupid who appears in other works, and edging into the age where he might be old enough to make love to his mother—while Venus is portrayed as a beautiful young woman in her twenties. It has been suggested that Venus' legs appear to be slightly spread, possibly to indicate she is ready to receive Cupid sexually. Venus is shown holding Cupid's arrow which perhaps implies that she is in control of their lovemaking. As the couple seem on verge of a sexual tryst, they are also about to be showered from behind with rose petals by a naked boy, believed to represent jest, folly or pleasure. Another meaning that could be derived, would be through the detail of cupid's hand on his mother's crown, as if to say Be careful of who you love, you never know if they have honorable intentions.

The bearded, bald figure to the upper right of the scene is believed to be Time, in view of the hourglass behind him. He sweeps his arm forcefully out to his right. Again, it is difficult to interpret his gesture with any certainty; it could be to prevent the figure at the far left of the picture from shielding the incestuous transgressions of Venus and the adolescent Cupid with the billowing blue fabric that provides a screen between the figures in the fore and background. Many believe that his gesture seems to say, Time is fleeting, and you never know when it may be all over. The figure opposite time, and also grasping at the drapery, is usually referred to as Oblivion due to the lack of substance to his form--notice the eyeless sockets and the mask-like head. The mask-like face of this figure is echoed by the image of two actual masks in the lower right-hand corner.

The identity of the remaining figures is even more ambiguous. The old woman rending her hair has been called Jealousy—though some believe her to represent the ravaging effects of syphilis (result of unwise intercourse). The creature at the right hand side behind Folly, with a girl's face and grotesque body, extending a honeycomb with her left hand attached to her right arm, may represent Pleasure and Fraud. There is, however, no consensus on these identifications.

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Links and References

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venus,_Cupid,_Folly_and_Time
Essay on this painting from the book Beauty and Terror by Brian A. Oard
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Angelo_Bronzino_001.jpg

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Mannerist paintings | Collections of the National Gallery, London | 1545 paintings | Bronzino paintings | Paintings of Venus

Cupid (Roman)

Cupid

In Roman mythology, Cupid (Latin cupido, meaning "desire") is the god of erotic love and beauty. He is also known by another one of his Latin names, Amor (cognate with Kama). He is the son of goddess Venus and god Mars.
In popular culture Cupid is frequently shown shooting his bow to inspire romantic love, often as an icon of Valentine's Day. He is now in the current culture the personification of love and courtship in general.
For the equivalent deity in Greek mythology, see Eros.

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Legend

In the Roman version, Cupid was the son of Venus (goddess of love) and variously Mars, Mercury or Neptune.[2][3] In the Greek version he was named Eros and seen as one of the primordial gods (though other myths exist as well). Cupid was often depicted with wings, a bow, and a quiver of arrows. The following story is almost identical in both cultures; the most familiar version is found in Lucius Apuleius's Metamorphoses. When Cupid's mother Venus became jealous of the princess Psyche, who was so beloved by her subjects that they forgot to worship Venus, she ordered Cupid to make Psyche fall in love with the vilest thing in the world. While Cupid was sneaking into her room to shoot Psyche with a golden arrow, he accidentally scratches himself with his own arrow and falls deeply in love with her.

Following that, Cupid visited Psyche every night while she slept. Speaking to her so that she could not see him, he told her never to try to see him. Psyche, though, incited by her two older sisters who told her Cupid was a monster, tried to look at him and angered Cupid. When he left, she looked all over the known world for him until at last the leader of the gods, Jupiter, gave Psyche the gift of immortality so that she could be with him. Together they had a daughter, Voluptas, or Hedone, (meaning pleasure) and Psyche became a goddess. Her name "Psyche" means "soul."

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Portrayal

In painting and sculpture, Cupid is often portrayed as a nude (or sometimes diapered) winged boy or baby (a putto) armed with a bow and a quiver of arrows.

The Hindu Kāma also has a very similar description. On gems and other surviving pieces, he is usually shown amusing himself with childhood play, sometimes driving a hoop, throwing darts, catching a butterfly, or flirting with a nymph. He is often depicted with his mother (in graphic arts, this is nearly always Venus), playing a horn. In other images, his mother is depicted scolding or even spanking him due to his mischievous nature. He is also shown wearing a helmet and carrying a buckler, perhaps in reference to Virgil's Omnia vincit amor or as political satire on wars for love or love as war.

Cupid figures prominently in ariel poetry, lyrics and, of course, elegiac love and metamorphic poetry. In epic poetry, he is less often invoked, but he does appear in Virgil's Aeneid changed into the shape of Ascanius inspiring Dido's love. In later literature, Cupid is frequently invoked as fickle, playful, and perverse. He is often depicted as carrying two sets of arrows: one set gold-headed, which inspire love; and the other lead-headed, which inspire hatred.

The best-known story involving Cupid is the tale of Cupid and Psyche.

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See also

Aphrodite
Apollo and Daphne
Cherub
Cupid's bow
Eros (love)
Eros (mythology)
He-He er xian, the Taoist "Immortals of Harmony and Union", popularly associated with a happy marriage
Kama, the god of love in Hinduism
Love at first sight
Putto
Roman mythology
Love darts, as used by snails
Till We Have Faces

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cupid

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Roman gods | Love and lust gods | Deities in the Aeneid | Holiday characters | Fictional archers

Eros and Psyche

Cupid and Psyche (/ˈsaɪkiː/; also known as The Tale of Amour and Psyche and The Tale of Eros and Psyche), is a legend that first appeared as a digressionary story told by an old woman in Lucius Apuleius' novel, The Golden Ass, written in the 2nd century AD. Apuleius likely used an earlier tale as the basis for his story, modifying it to suit the thematic needs of his novel.

It has since been interpreted as a Märchen, an allegory and a myth. Considered as a fairy tale, it is either an allegory or a myth, but the folkloric tradition tends to blend these.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cupid_and_Psyche
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Canova-Cupd_and_Psyche_300degree_view.jpgCupid and Psyche, by Antonio Canova, c. 1808, in the Hermitage, Saint Petersburg.

Cupid, Mars and Venus