Venus and Cupid

Venus and Cupid

Title

Venus and Cupid

[Exhib. Cat. Brussels 2010, 188]

Painting auf Holz, transferred onto canvas

Medium

Painting auf Holz, transferred onto canvas

[http://www.opac-fabritius.be; 20.01.2011]

The nude figure of the Goddess of Love stands in front of a dark background. A tree is suggested at the left edge. From it her son Cupid has just stolen a honey comb and has been stung by the bees. He plaintively turns to his mother. However, according to

The nude figure of the Goddess of Love stands in front of a dark background. A tree is suggested at the left edge. From it her son Cupid has just stolen a honey comb and has been stung by the bees. He plaintively turns to his mother. However, according to the inscription she informs him that his arrows are no less painful.

[Herrschaft, cda 2015]

Attribution
Lucas Cranach the Elder

Attribution

Lucas Cranach the Elder

[http://www.opac-.fabritius.be; 20.01.2011]

Production date
1531

Production date

1531

[dated]

Dimensions
Dimensions of support: 176 x 80 cm

Dimensions

  • Dimensions of support: 176 x 80 cm

  • [http://www.opac-fabritius.be; 20.01.2011]

Signature / Dating

Artist's insignia on the tree trunk: winged serpent with elevated wings and dated '1531'; in yellow paint

Signature / Dating

  • Artist's insignia on the tree trunk: winged serpent with elevated wings and dated '1531'; in yellow paint

  • [Kunsthistorisches Museum, revised 2011]

Inscriptions and Labels
  • top right:
    'DV/PVER ALVEOLO FVRATVR MELLA CVPIDO. / FVRANTI DIGITV CVSPITE FIXIT APIS. / SIC ETIA NOBIS BREVIS ET …

Inscriptions and Labels

Inscriptions, Badges:

    • top right:

  • 'DV/PVER ALVEOLO FVRATVR MELLA CVPIDO. / FVRANTI DIGITV CVSPITE FIXIT APIS. / SIC ETIA NOBIS BREVIS ET PERITVRA VOLVPTAS / QVA PETIMVS TRISTI PIXTA DOLORE NOCET'

  • [http://www.opac-fabritius.be; 20.01.2011]

Owner
Musées royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique, Brussels
Repository
Musées royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique, Brussels
Location
Brussels
CDA ID
BE_MRBAB_4759
FR (1978) Nr.
FR246F
Persistent Link
https://lucascranach.org/en/BE_MRBAB_4759/

Provenance

  • 1928 donated by Leon Cassel
    [Exhib. Cat. Brussels 2010, 188]

Exhibitions

Brussels, Paris 2010/2011, No.98

Literature

Reference on page Catalogue Number Figure / Plate
Exhib. Cat. Brussels 2010 188-189 98 pp. 188, 201
EditorBozarbooks & Lannoo, Guido Messling
TitleDie Welt des Lucas Cranach. Ein Künstler im Zeitalter von Dürer, Tizian und Metsys [anlässlich der Ausstellung "Die Welt des Lucas Cranach", Palast der Schönen Künste, Brüssel, 20. Oktober 2010 - 23. Januar 2011]
Place of PublicationBrussels
Year of Publication2010
Show Literature
Heydenreich 2010 A 70 p. 71
AuthorGunnar Heydenreich
TitleReisende Bilder im Wandel
Publicationin Guido Messling, ed., Die Welt des Lucas Cranach. Ein Künstler im Zeitalter von Dürer, Tizian und Metsys, Exhib. Cat. Brussels
Place of PublicationBrussels
Year of Publication2010
Pages66-79
Show Literature
Werner 2010 37
AuthorElke Anna Werner
TitleKünstlerische Transferprozesse und mediale Strategien kultureller Aneignung. Cranach und Italien
Publicationin Guido Messling, ed., Die Welt des Lucas Cranach. Ein Künstler im Zeitalter von Dürer, Tizian und Metsys, Exhib. Cat. Brussels
Place of PublicationBrussels
Year of Publication2010
Pages30-41
Show Literature
Cat. Brussels 2001 72
AuthorAnne Dubois, Brigitte De Patoul
EditorMusées royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique, Brüssel
TitleMusée d'Art Ancien. Oeuvres choisies
Place of PublicationBrussels
Year of Publication2001
Show Literature
Cat. Brussels 1984 76
EditorHenri Pauwels, Musées royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique, Brüssel
TitleMusées royal des Beaux-Arts de Belgique. Catalogue inventaire de la peinture ancienne
Place of PublicationBrussels
Year of Publication1984
Show Literature
Friedländer, Rosenberg 1979 119 No. 246F
AuthorMax J. Friedländer, Jakob Rosenberg
EditorG. Schwartz
TitleDie Gemälde von Lucas Cranach
Place of PublicationBasel, Boston, Stuttgart
Year of Publication1979
Show Literature
Friedländer, Rosenberg 1932 204G
AuthorMax J. Friedländer, Jakob Rosenberg
TitleDie Gemälde von Lucas Cranach
Place of PublicationBerlin
Year of Publication1932
Link http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/friedlaender1932
Show Literature
Fierens-Gevaert 1931 pl. 73
AuthorFierens-Gevaert
TitleLa peinture au Musée Ancien de Bruxelles. Reprod. de 184 oeuvres des diverses écoles précédée d'un guide historique et critique
Place of PublicationBrussels
IssueThird edition
Year of Publication1931
Show Literature
Glaser 1923 232
AuthorCurt Glaser
TitleLukas Cranach
Place of PublicationLeipzig
Year of Publication1923
Link http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/glaser1923
Show Literature
  • Venus and Cupid, 1531

Images

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Technical studies

01. 2010Technical examination / Scientific analysis

  • Infrared reflectography
  • irr

Underdrawing

DESCRIPTION

Tools/Materials:

- dry drawing material and fluid black medium, a combination of brush and chalk?

Type/Ductus:

- freehand underdrawing?; barely visible

- thin lines

Function:

- binding for the final painted version; lines delineate contours

Deviations:

- no alterations made during the painting process

INTERPRETATION

Attribution:

- Lucas Cranach the Younger?

Comments:

- probably with reference to a preparatory drawing or may even have been transferred from a pre-existing design

[Smith, Sandner, Heydenreich, cda 2012]

  • photographed by Gunnar Heydenreich

2010Technical examination / Scientific analysis

Support

Preserved original painted surface: c. 166 x 67 cm, added to along all four edges

[Heydenreich, CDA 2011]

  • written by Gunnar Heydenreich

Condition Reports

Date2010

'The original wooden support was removed and the ground and paint layers were transferred onto canvas. There are large losses in the paint layers, particularly on the bottom left. In the past these were generously overpainted by a restorer. The quiver, stone floor and parts of the legs and feet are no longer the work of Cranach. The image was added to around the edge.'

[Heydenreich 2010 A, 70]

Versions

Venus with Cupid as Honey Thief
  • Venus with Cupid as Honey Thief, about 1600 - 1630
  • DE_BStGS_13261
  • Painting
  • Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen
Venus
  • Venus, after 1600
  • CH_MAHG_1874-0012
  • Painting
  • Musée d'Art et d'Histoire, Genève
Venus with Cupid as a Honey Thief
  • Venus with Cupid as a Honey Thief, about 1500 - 1599
  • DE_BStGS_5466
  • Painting
  • Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen
Cupid as Honey Thief
  • Cupid as Honey Thief, about 1600 or later
  • DE_SKK_0811
  • Painting
  • Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe

Citing from the Cranach Digital Archive

Entry with author
<author's name>, 'Venus and Cupid', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/BE_MRBAB_4759/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})
Entry with no author
'Venus and Cupid', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document, entry or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/BE_MRBAB_4759/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})

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