|  | An Allegory with Venus and Cupid
Item 3 on 18
Italian Painting
Painting (Thème mythologique)
Dimensions : 1,17 m x 1,47 m
Date : approx. between 1540 and 1550
Area related : Firenze (Italy)
Acquisition : Purchase (1860)
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| Description |  |  |
This painting was intended as a difficult riddle. It was almost certainly commissioned by Duke Cosimo' de Medici of Tuscany for King François I of France. Cupid is disarmed by a kiss from his mother Venus. The boy with rose petals probably represents Jest. Other figures may stand for Fraud and Jealousy, and perhaps Pleasure. The bearded man, frustrated in expression and action, is Time.
The work is likely to be that mentioned in Vasari's "Life of Bronzino" of 1568 : "He made a picture of singular beauty, which was sent to King Francis in France; in which was a nude Venus with Cupid kissing her, and on one side Pleasure and Play with other Loves; and on the other, Fraud, Jealousy, and other passions of love".
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