Venus and Cupid, stealing Honey

Venus and Cupid, stealing Honey

Title

Venus and Cupid, stealing Honey

[Friedländer, Rosenberg 1979, No. 400]

Painting on wood

Medium

Painting on wood

[Friedländer, Rosenberg 1979, No. 400]

The painting depicts the Goddess Venus standing against a backdrop of shrubbery; she is scantily concealed by a veil that falls over her shoulders and arms. Venus looks out at the viewer and points with her right hand to her son, Cupid. He has stolen a honeycomb from a knothole

The painting depicts the Goddess Venus standing against a backdrop of shrubbery; she is scantily concealed by a veil that falls over her shoulders and arms. Venus looks out at the viewer and points with her right hand to her son, Cupid. He has stolen a honeycomb from a knothole in the tree at the left edge of the painting and as a consequence is being attacked by bees. However, Cupid seems by and large undisturbed by this and tastes the honey with a finger.

[Görres, cda 2016]

Attribution
Lucas Cranach the Elder

Attribution

Lucas Cranach the Elder

[Friedländer, Rosenberg 1979, No. 400]

Production date
about 1540

Production date

about 1540

[Friedländer, Rosenberg 1979, No. 400]

Dimensions
Dimensions of support: 50 x 33 cm

Dimensions

  • Dimensions of support: 50 x 33 cm

  • [Friedländer, Rosenberg 1979, No. 400]

Signature / Dating

None

Inscriptions and Labels
  • text block at the top left : (the text is almost illegible, but by comparison with other versions of …

Inscriptions and Labels

Inscriptions, Badges:

    • text block at the top left : (the text is almost illegible, but by comparison with other versions of the same subject by Cranach it can be reconstructed as follows:

  • 'DVM PVER ALVEOLO FVRATVR MELLA CVPIDO / FVRANTI DIGITVM SEDVLA PVNXIT APIS / SIC ETIAM NOBIS BREVIS ET MORITVRA VOLVPTAS / QVAM PETIMVS TRISTI MIXTA DOLORE NOCET'

  • [cda 2016]

Owner
Private Collection
Repository
Private Collection
CDA ID
PRIVATE_NONE-P156
FR (1978) Nr.
FR400
Persistent Link
https://lucascranach.org/en/PRIVATE_NONE-P156/

Provenance

  • New York, Thomas I. Bryan Collection
  • New York, Historical Society, No. B-196
    [Friedländer, Rosenberg 1979, No. 400]
  • Sotheby's, New York, 12 January 1995, Lot 151
    [cda 2016]

Literature

Reference on page Catalogue Number Figure / Plate
Friedländer, Rosenberg 1979 400
AuthorMax J. Friedländer, Jakob Rosenberg
EditorG. Schwartz
TitleDie Gemälde von Lucas Cranach
Place of PublicationBasel, Boston, Stuttgart
Year of Publication1979
Show Literature
Kuhn 1936 41 120 pl. XXIII
AuthorCharles L. Kuhn
TitleA Catalogue of German Paintings of the Middle Ages and Renaissance in American Collections
Place of PublicationCambridge Mass.
Year of Publication1936
Show Literature
  • Venus and Cupid, stealing Honey, about 1540

Images

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Citing from the Cranach Digital Archive

Entry with author
<author's name>, 'Venus and Cupid, stealing Honey', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/PRIVATE_NONE-P156/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})
Entry with no author
'Venus and Cupid, stealing Honey', <title of document, data entry or image>. [<Date of document, entry or image>], in: Cranach Digital Archive, https://lucascranach.org/en/PRIVATE_NONE-P156/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})

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