Venus and Cupid
Luca Cambiaso · c. 1570 · Art Institute of Chicago
Guide
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From the museum
The canopied bed and profile view lend an unusual intimacy to this representation of the Roman goddess of love and her son. The doves in the lower-left corner are an emblem of Venus; the discarded quiver with an unbuckled strap indicates that she has disarmed Cupid, who was notorious for wounding lovers with his arrows. The most important and inventive painter in 16th-century Genoa, Luca Cambiaso developed a highly personal style characterized by geometric simplification of anatomy and dramatic, often silvery light.
The museum’s own description, in English. Licence: CC BY 4.0
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Details
- Maker
- Luca Cambiaso (Italian, 1527–1585)
- Date
- c. 1570
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- 107.5 × 95.7 cm (42 3/8 × 37 5/8 in.); Framed: 138.5 × 126.7 × 8.6 cm (54 1/2 × 49 7/8 × 3 3/8 in.)
- Place of origin
- Italy
- Held by
- Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago · On view · Gallery 206
- Credit line
- A. A. Munger Collection
Image: Art Institute of Chicago, CC0
