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Circle of Giorgione Giorgione (related artist) Italian, 1477/1478 - 1510 Venus and Cupid in a Landscape, c. 1505/1515 oil on panel overall: 11 x 20 cm (4 5/16 x 7 7/8 in.) Samuel H. Kress Collection 1939.1.142 |
Object 6 of 6
Not all paintings in a Renaissance study would have been seen on the wall; even the greatest artists were called on to decorate everyday objects. In all probability this small panel was originally part of a box or cabinet. Under the bushy plant near the center is a keyhole, now filled and overpainted but visible in x-radiographs.
Seated in a lyrical landscape, Venus, goddess of love, seems to be exchanging something—exactly what is no longer clear—with her son Cupid. Perhaps the scene illustrated some episode from an ancient myth—or perhaps the only “subject” is its poetic mood.
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