Venus and Cupid

Title

Venus and Cupid

[MNaR Bucharest, revised 2022]

Painting on wood

Medium

Painting on wood

[MNaR Bucharest, revised 2022]

Lucas Cranach and his workshop produced many versions of this mythological theme. Peaceful and perfectly balanced in her posture, Venus seems to discreetly argue that the relationship between Christian virtue, suggested by the cross around her neck, and wordly love need not neccesarily be a tensioned or guilty one. Venus stands in front of a curtain that is drawn aside to reveal a landscape in the background. Her elegant contraposto is a posture typical of so many female figures from the Cranach workshop. She conceals her nakedness with only a thin transparent veil, descending from the top of her head to her hips. The winged Cupid stands to her left, supporting the bow with his right arm and foot. He mischievously hides the arrow of love from his mother’s sight, but not from us.

[see MNaR website, accessed 27.05.2022]

Attributions: Lucas Cranach the Elder
Follower of Lucas Cranach the Elder

Attributions

Lucas Cranach the Elder	[MNaR Bucharest, revised 2022]
Follower of Lucas Cranach the Elder	[cda 2022]

Production date: 152[0] or 152[9] or later

Production date

152[0] or 152[9] or later

[dated]

Dimensions: Dimensions of support: 104 x 57 cm

Dimensions

Dimensions of support: 104 x 57 cm
[MNaR Bucharest, revised 2022]

Signature / Dating: Artist's Insignia on a stone at the bottom left: serpent without wings, facing right, dated beneath '152[0/9?]', presumably not authentic

Signature / Dating

Artist's Insignia on a stone at the bottom left: serpent without wings, facing right, dated beneath '152[0/9?]', presumably not authentic

Inscriptions and Labels: None

Inscriptions and Labels

Inscriptions, Badges:

None

Owner: Muzeul Național de Artă al României (MNaR)
Repository: Muzeul Național de Artă al României (MNaR)
Location: Bucharest

CDA ID: RO_MNaR_8107-141
FR (1978) Nr.: FR-none
Persistent Link: https://lucascranach.org/en/RO_MNaR_8107-141/

Provenance

Consul Felix Bamberg (ante 1879)
King Charles I of Romania, Sinaia (1879)
The National Museum of Art of Romania, Bucharest (1948)
[MNaR Bucharest, revised 2022]

Literature

Reference on page

Catalogue Number

Figure / Plate

Cat. Bucharest 1974

18-19

193

Author	Stella Russu, Maria Matache
Title	Catalogue of the Universal Art Gallery
Place of Publication	Bucharest
Year of Publication	1974

Show Literature

Exhib. Cat. Bucarest 1973 A

103

147

Editor	Werner Schade
Title	Lucas Cranach der Ältere, Lucas Cranach der Jüngere, Jacob Lucius der Ältere. Gemälde und Holzschnitte aus Sammlungen der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik
Place of Publication	Bucarest
Year of Publication	1973

Show Literature

Cat. Bucharest 1898

126

093

Author	Léon Bachelin
Title	Tableaux anciens de la galerie Charles Ier roi de Roumanie
Place of Publication	Paris, New York, Dornach
Year of Publication	1898
Link	https://opacplus.bsb-muenchen.de/title/BV019931083

Show Literature

Venus and Cupid, 152[0] or 152[9] or later

Images

Conservation History

Date1995 - 1999

In the late 1990s the pigment Prussian blue was detected in the blue veil, identifying it as an 18th century addition, which was subsequently removed during conservation treatment.

[MNaR website, accessed 27.05.2022]

conservation treatment by Ioan Sfrijan

Date1700 - 1799

In the 18th century a blue veil was added to conceal the nudity of Venus.

[MNaR website, accessed 27.05.2022]

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/RO_MNaR_8107-141/ (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/RO_MNaR_8107-141/ (Accessed {{dateAccessed}})

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