Venus and Cupid
Venus and Cupid are both symbolic figures that have been know throughout history. There are numerous paintings and sculptures that display them together but on the most unusual and symbolic paintings of Venus and Cupid is by Lorenzo Lotto. The medium used for this work of art is oil on canvas and was painted in the High Renaissance time (1480-1556). The painting depicts Venus, as a bride lying on her left side nude while Cupid is standing beside her. The composition contains several symbols that were significant in the Renaissance era that reflected marriage.
The work of art was inspired by ancient marriage poems called, ““epithalamia”. In the book, Art and Love in Renaissance Italy written by Andrea Bayer says that, “Epithalamia were full of references to the purpose of marriage and shared the ‘family values’’’. These poems began with verses where Venus was awakening from her bower to bless the bride and groom. Bayer also explains how wedding celebrations in the sixteenth century went on for days and included parades, games, performances, processions, and meals. The painting by Lorenzo Lotto was created to celebrate a wedding celebration but Venus’s identity is changed, although she is the goddess of love she is portrayed as Venetian bride. The veil, diadem, and pearl earring are all indications of brides in sixteenth-century Venice. However, there are many elements that…show more content… The proportion of the painting is symmetrically balanced, Venus’s head is proportioned with her body. Venus also had a very elongated torso. Lotto also uses visual texture with the draperies, skin tone, and Venus’s veil. The paintings as a whole uses various symbolic meaning that were painted strictly painted by Lotto. Today this painting Venus and Cupid by stands in the Metropolitan Museum of Arts in New York City and is admired by numerous people