One of the paintings that I enjoyed the most at the National Gallery was An Allegory with Venus and Cupid, by Bronzino. It was painted as a gift for King Francis in France. It features Cupid fondling Venus as she is taking an arrow form out of his arrow holster. The picture is very unclear when it comes to understanding what is going on. It is said that Venus is the mother of Cupid their for why would he be fondling her breast. Perhaps he believes in Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytical theory, where young boys fantasize about having sexual relations with their mothers. Of course this was painted way before Freud came up with this absurd theory.
In the painting there are several different people or I should say things that are in the background. It is said that one person who is in the background is a jealous man but there is no idea as to who this man might be. There is also a small creacutue that has a face of a girl who is holding flower peddles, she appears to be happy.
This is a beautiful painting I love Bronzino’s use of colors and the brightness of the painting.
Bronzino's "Allegory with Venus and Cupid" is the subject of my historical novel "Cupid and the Silent Goddess", which imagines how the painting might have been created in Florence in 1544-5.
ReplyDeleteSee:
http://www.twentyfirstcenturypublishers.com/index.asp?PageID=496