Offered by Antichità Castelbarco
Venetian painter of the 17th/18th century
Venus and Cupid
Oil on canvas 57 x 49 cm. In frame 71 x 61 cm.
The painting captures the attention with its intimate and sensual representation, centred on a seductive, semi-naked Venus, with soft and sinuous forms, reclining on a bed with white draped sheets, with an expression of calm mischief on her face.
At her side, Cupid reaches out his hands in a gesture that suggests complicity and affection, while at the same time wanting to retrieve his arrow, the iconic symbol of love. The light, which seems to come from above, caresses the figures, enhancing the roundness of their bodies and creating a play of light and shadow that lends depth and realism to the scene, with the dark background highlighting the figures in the foreground, focusing attention on the intimacy of the moment.
The painting invites the viewer to contemplate the beauty of Venus, who embodies a prototype of exuberant beauty so appreciated at the time and who, as the goddess of love and eros, embodies attraction, desire and passion.
The “sensual bond” between Venus and Cupid therefore represents the contrast between earthly love and higher, spiritual love, which can, however, become earthly and sensual through the arrows of love.
Analysis of the painting allows us to place its execution within the Northern Italian school, carried out by an artist from the Venetian area active between the 17th and 18th centuries. The subject recalls those favoured by the school's founder, Pietro Liberi, who was interested in secular themes such as this, in which the clearly erotic aims were often combined with mythical tales.
The witty mischief in the gaze of the sensual Venus, depicted in profile, is matched by the knowing expression of Cupid, whom she has disarmed.
Delevery information :
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