Artwork Page for Venus and Cupid

Details / Information for Venus and Cupid

Series Title: Three Goddesses

Venus and Cupid

c. 1595

Jan Saenredam

(Dutch, 1565–1607)

after Hendrick Goltzius

(Dutch, 1558–1617)
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Culture
Netherlands, 16th century
Medium
engraving
Credit Line
John L. Severance Fund 1993.205.2
Catalogue raisonné
Hollstein XXIII.47.61
State
I/II
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
Print

Description

Goltzius popularized a style of engraving with mesmerizing patterns of curving, tapering, and crisscrossing lines; it was especially appreciated in the late 1500s. Designed for his pupil Saenredam to engrave, these prints depict the three goddesses from the tale of The Judgment of Paris, in which each claimed the golden apple awarded to the most beautiful. Jupiter deferred judgment to Paris, a mortal esteemed for his fair-mindedness. Juno and Athena tried to bribe Paris with an empire and skill in war, but Venus made him an offer he could not resist: Helen, the world’s most beautiful woman. The peacock identifies Juno, queen of the gods and the jealous wife (and sister) of Jupiter. Clad in armor, Pallas Athena is the goddess of wisdom, the arts, and warfare; an owl is her sage companion. The presentation of the deities in separate prints suggests that viewers may also play Paris’s role and decide themselves which goddess the artists made most beautiful.
A vertically oriented print in black ink depicts a nude Venus and Cupid with light skin tones. Venus gazes down at Cupid on the right, holding an apple in her right hand and a bow in her left hand. She wears an ornate, jeweled belt. Cupid, a winged child, looks up while clutching an arrow. Two birds fly in the background. At the bottom, a Latin inscription is accompanied by signatures in the upper left.

Venus and Cupid

c. 1595

Jan Saenredam, Hendrick Goltzius

(Dutch, 1565–1607), (Dutch, 1558–1617)
Netherlands, 16th century

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