This strange and erotic painting, was painted by, Angolo Bronzino somewhere in the mid 1540’s.
Its obscure images, exaggerated poses, and graceful forms are characteristic of the mannerist period. It is said to have been commissioned by Cosimo de Medici the Grand Duke of Tuscany, which was then given as a gift to King Francis, who was known for his “lusty appetites”. This is a very dynamic and somewhat claustrophobic painting of an immoral, and incestuous act between Cupid and his mother Venus.Cupid is fondling his mother’s breast and appears to be squizing her nipple while kissing her on the lips. The characters and the meaning of this picture have been debated amongst scholors for years. We do know from the shiny gold apple in her hand, that the woman is Venus, and that is the Golden Apple of Discord.
We can tell the boy embracing her is Cupid by the quiver that hangs from his jeweled sash across his back, and the bald headed grey haired man, who is reaching across the top is, Father Time which, has been identified by the hourglass on the top of his shoulder.These are the only characters who can be positively identified. The rest of the content is merely speculated. The reason I found this painting so intriguing, is since the content is so mysterious, I found it fun to be able to put my own interpretation on it.
However it is said, that the little boy who looks as though he is getting ready to throw a handful of rose petals at the couple, is known as, Jest or, Folly and represents pleasure or joy. The figure behind him is much more complex and surprising.At first glance all I saw was the face of what seemed to be an innocent little girl, but if you look closely you’ll see her body is scaly like a reptile or a long snake tail. They say that since this figure seems to deceive us that she represents deception and has been identified by some scholors as fraud and pleasure. If you look closely at the position of her hands, it looks as if they may be switched (her left hand is on the right and her right is on the left. ) It is also said that she may be holding a honeycomb in one hand and a stinger in the other.
The woman in the top left corner has been refered to as truth since she is assisting Father Time in the unveiling of this incestuous act, but she has also been identified as oblivion since she has no brain she has no thinking capacity. In the shadows on the left there is a sickly looking man who seems to be in pain and misery and it is believed that he may represent jelousy or syphilis which was an ongoing epidemic during that time. I like to interpret it as a forbidden love that in conjunction with pleasure and deceit bring painful consequences.I like to think of the figure in the upper left corner as Oblivion, who is trying to cover up or put a veil over this inconceivable behavior, but Father time prevents her from doing so in an attempt to show the world the dangers of such illicit sexual acts like the possibility of contracting sexually transmitted diseases such as syphilis. Bronzino was a student of Jacopo Pontormo who was the founder of the Florentine mannerist style and greatly influenced Bronzinos work.
The attention to silky textures, jewels and masks in the Allegory with Cupid and Venus is cosistant to his aristocratic patronage and as well as this particular style of mannerism. Together with Pontormo they worked on a series of Frescos at the Certosa di Galuzzo Monestary. Other popular works created by Bronzino are: The Resurection of Mary, the Martyrdom of San Lorenzo, The Israelites Passing Through the Red Sea and many more. In conclusion, the Allegory with Venus and Cupid is one of the most strangest paintings of the sixteenth century and is still one of the most controversial to this day.
