Venus and Cupid
Artist
Cornelis Cornelisz. van Haarlem
(Dutch, 1562–1638)
Date1602
Mediumoil on panel
Dimensionspanel: 54.3 x 36.8 cm (21 3/8 x 14 1/2 in.)
ClassificationsPaintings
Credit LineStoddard Aquisition Fund and the 1981 Deaccessioning of Dutch and Flemish Paintings
Terms
Object number1997.103
Label TextCornelis uses his palette to capture the opposing personalities of the figures in this composition. Cupid, the mischievous child, has bold primary colors—red, blue, and yellow—in his wing and quiver. In contrast, Venus, composed and sophisticated, wears finery and jewels in softer pink and moss green. The facial expressions also convey their natures, as Cupid’s ruddy face looks directly out, on the verge of giggling, while Venus calmly gazes off to the side. Cornelis began to develop larger figures in this period—a departure from the extremely detailed work to the left. Yet, this panel retains the meticulous refinement of his early work, unlike the more open handling of paint in his large canvas on the opposite wall.ProvenanceNelson GoodmanOn View
On view
