Venus with Cupid stealing Honey

Venus with Cupid stealing Honey

Title

Venus with Cupid stealing Honey

[Bonhams online database, accessed 15.06.2021]

Painting on wood

Medium

Painting on wood

[Bonhams online database, accessed 15.06.2021]

Venus and Cupid are represented as full length nude figures in a forest clearing against a backdrop with a tree trunk prominantly positioned at the left and bushes at the right where a stag languishes. Venus looks out at the viewer, wearing only a large brimmed feathered hat, a choker

Venus and Cupid are represented as full length nude figures in a forest clearing against a backdrop with a tree trunk prominantly positioned at the left and bushes at the right where a stag languishes. Venus looks out at the viewer, wearing only a large brimmed feathered hat, a choker and a transparent veil, which seems to emphasize her nakedness rather than conceal it. Her weight is supported on her right leg and she has turned slightly towards Cupid. He is already holding a honeycomb in his left hand, while bees swarm about him and he looks to Venus for assistance. The Latin inscription in the upper left corner suggests that the motif wishes to alert the viewer to the consequences of abandoned lust. A coat of arms is visible at the bottom right corner.

[cda 2021]

Attributions
Lucas Cranach the Elder
Lucas Cranach the Younger

Attributions

Lucas Cranach the Elder

[D. Koepplin, Bonhams online database, accessed 15.06.2021]

Lucas Cranach the Younger

'Werner Schade: vermutlich L. Cranach d. J.' [handwritten by D. Koepplin on a photocopy of the painting; Koepplin Archive]

Production date
1537

Production date

1537

[dated]

Dimensions
Dimensions of support: 51.1 x 36.2 cm

Dimensions

Signature / Dating

Artist's insignia on the tree trunk at the left: serpent with elevated wings and dated '1537'

Signature / Dating

  • Artist's insignia on the tree trunk at the left: serpent with elevated wings and dated '1537'

Inscriptions and Labels
  • at the top left: 'PVG[II] APIS PVERVM VENERIS // DVM ROSCIDA MELLA // FVRATVR SIC SVNT DVLCIA // …

Inscriptions and Labels

Inscriptions, Badges:

    • at the top left:

  • 'PVG[II] APIS PVERVM VENERIS // DVM ROSCIDA MELLA // FVRATVR SIC SVNT DVLCIA // MIXTA MALIS.'

  • The specific inscription in the present painting, which is unusual, is taken from the book, Enchiridion utriusque musicae practicae by the musician and music theorist, Georg Rhau (1488-1548). It was published for the first time in 1518 and was intended for the instruction of church musicians. [...] The 1536 edition is the first to contain the poem of the inscriptions.

  • [Bonhams online database, accessed 15.06.2021]

Owner
Private Collection
Repository
Private Collection
CDA ID
PRIVATE_NONE-P507
FR (1978) Nr.
FR-none
Persistent Link
https://lucascranach.org/en/PRIVATE_NONE-P507/

Provenance

Research History / Discussion

The coat-of-arms in the present painting is not immediately identifiable. However according to Bonhams John Allen suggested that the male (left-hand) element of the shield is similar to both those of the Waldeck family of Brandenburg and the Meurer family of Austria. Furthermore Lord Norrys pointed out that the black eagle, battlements and lion are also typical of the heraldry of Bohemia.

[Bonhams online database, accessed 15.06.2021]

  • Venus with Cupid stealing Honey, 1537

Images

Compare images
  • overall
  • overall
  • overall
  • overall

Conservation History

Date1900

The cradle was attached to the reverse of the panel by Leedham in London circa 1900.

[Bonhams online database, accessed 15.06.2021]

Citing from the Cranach Digital Archive

Entry with author
<author's name>, 'Venus with 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-P507/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})
Entry with no author
'Venus with 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-P507/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})

Help us to improve the Cranach Digital Archive.

Please contact us, if you have noticed a mistake.