Venus and Cupid
1520s
Lorenzo Lotto serves up a surprisingly cheeky take on the goddess of love, reclining casually on blue velvet while scattering rose petals across her body. To her left, a chubby Cupid holds up a laurel wreath with a smoking censer, almost like he's conducting a strange, fragrant ritual. The red curtain backdrop and the hanging conch shell add a theatrical, almost stage-set vibe to this intimate scene. Historians believe this was likely a wedding gift meant to inspire fertility and 'marital duties,' explaining the heavy symbolism of the shells and the snake lurking in the corner.
- Technique
- Oil on canvas
Location: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
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