Lorenzo Lotto. Venus and Cupid.
Lorenzo Lotto’s “Venus and Cupid” painting is one of the most innocent and playful presentations of nudity. My first impression of the painting was - the color. It caught my eye and stopped for a closer look. The second impression was the scene: a beautiful naked woman and a boy peeing through a Laurel wreath – referring to Roman mythology Gods. The third component that made me chose the painting was the mood. It is very uplifting.
Technical side
I would like to start the analysis from, what seems to me, a vital thing in this composition – color. The color scheme of this very work is contrast. Red and blue are two very powerful colors. Even though they are not complementary - they are dominant in their palettes. In this painting, red is prevalent for two reasons: it is on top – where the eye of the viewer concentrates first, and secondly – there is physically more of red in the painting. Red is a very strong color, even belligerent at times, but here it is used in its shade of terracotta, that softens its aggressive side. The blue cloth under Venus’s body looks silky, soft and creates a relaxing feeling. It beautifully underlines the woman’s body. The color of Venus and Cupid is beyond words. The play of shades and halftones is impeccable. Today they would have been called photo shopped but the artist simply wanted to highlight the perfectness of Gods and perfectness of love – which they represent. Overall, the play of colors create a very positive, sunlit image.
The size of the painting is 36 3/8 x 43 7/8 in. (92.4 x 111.4 cm). It is large enough for the viewer to see all the tiniest details of the painting. And there are many of those. The texture of the material seems very soft. This feeling is created by the fabrics that take a lot of space in the painting as well as by the curvy bodies of mother and son. The angle at which the light falls creates life-like volume in both background and the people in the painting. The lines are soft and mostly rounded. They gently guide you from object to object. The painting is not symmetrical with a slight shift of balance to the right – because of the mother’s body.
The focal point of the work must be the upper part of the body of Venus. This is where the eye is automatically drawn once you look at the painting. The dynamic of painting goes from right to left: starting from the woman’s body, following her hand and onto the boy. Although both Venus and Cupid look very authentic from an anatomic point of view, the image does not look like from the real world. The artist took away the naturalism and replaced it with additional color saturation and glossiness of the image.
Perceptive side
At first, the image resonates with religious theme of Madonna and a child. However, after reading the name of the work we realize that the author drew his inspiration from Roman mythology and symbols of the epoch.
The picture reflects an instance from a warm sunny day. Mother and son peacefully stay under a tree, probably in front a marquee – judging from the hanging red fabrics. The mother seems to be posing for someone, judging from her enigmatic look, directed at the viewers. Moreover, she is undressed in a very festive manner: with a crown, a see-through ribbon around her waist, a veil and rose petals scattered picturesquely on her body. The boy is portrayed playful and happy in his juvenile excitement. What may seem rude to today’s public – boy peeing through a Laurel wreath on his mother, was a good sign back in the day. It must have been - considering numerous statues and fountains of peeing boy around the world. The mother and son figures are placed in the foreground of the picture. Their postures occupy a larger part of the painting. Objects of the background, such as the tree, the hanging fabrics are displayed only partially, to serve their purpose – highlight Venus and Cupid. There are also many small details in the painting, such as a snake, a shell, roses, and a stick. They are randomly placed all over the painting. They serve as tiny accents to the whole image and most likely represent various things, according to the time the image was drawn.
The painting radiates positivity and love, since the two main characters are known for their amorous deeds in mythology.
What I find most fascinating about this work is that how unseen the nudity is in the picture. Both characters are fully undressed, yet it is the overall sense of innocence and lightness that prevails in perception of this image. Although if described with words the scene would have been considered provocative, on canvas it turned into a beautiful image of mother and son.
Generally, Lorenzo Lotto is renowned for his masterful portraits. In this work, he stayed true to himself. The painting is very likely for 16th century art – era of Italian prodigy painters. Techniques, use of colors, theme – all indicates best traditions of Renaissance. Although the theme is not so likely for that time. “Venus and Cupid” painting is something in between the traditional religious painting and portraying ordinary peoples. Such liveliness could not have been present in a “Mary and baby Jesus” painting, but at the same time, it is rare to depict ordinary people in such open manner.
Today art is mostly about the idea, about standing out at any cost. There are paintings that you have to hear a story about before you understand it of like them. This work of Lorenzo Lotto is a true piece of art for anyone who looks at it, both at the time it was created and many centuries later.
