Bronzino “Venus, Cupid and Satyr” at the Colonna Gallery in Rome

Venus, Cupid and Satyr

Agnolo Bronzino (1503-1572) “Venus, Cupid and Satyr”

Oil on wood (135 x 231 cm) 1555

This painting was commented on by Giorgio Vasari, who found this Venus so beautiful that she could only be the goddess of beauty.

A particularly erotic painting for its time, it presents a certain ambiguity, as one might wonder whether the red-faced, beastly satyr is interested in Cupid or his mother Venus while watching their subtle erotic game.

Venus, Cupid and Satyr The way Bronzino depicts Cupid's plump buttocks just below the satyr's eyes is indeed ambiguous, to say the least.

Cupid is given as much prominence as Venus: he is almost as tall as his mother, a young boy who catches the eye with his multicoloured wings and arched back, highlighted by a gold jewel set with a large pearl.

In representations of this theme, the satyr embodies voyeurism and lechery.

The flesh tones are particularly well highlighted here by the blue of the sheets beneath the curves of Venus's body, emphasising her gentle and sensual attitude.

Venus, Cupid and Satyr The theme has often been treated by showing a sleeping Venus, but here she has her eyes wide open to... love, for it is Cupid she is smiling at after taking his bow and the golden arrow, which she holds out of her son's reach, leaving him with only the lead arrow, which, according to Ovid, has no effect on its victims.

Venus holds the weapons of love; it is her feminine beauty that touches hearts.

This "active" Venus embraces her beauty and nudity without any complexes; there is no immodesty on her part, it is in her nature to be naked.

Venus' nudity represents the supreme beauty of Love.

Venus, Cupid and Satyr