Michele Tosini
, Italian, 1503-1577
after
Michelangelo Buonarroti
, Italian, 1475-1564
Title
Venus and CupidDateafter 1533
MediumOil on panel
Dimensions
135 x 193 cm
Credit LinePresented, 1864
Object numberNGI.77
ProvenancePresented, 7th Viscount Powerscourt, 1864Label TextThe true meaning of this complex allegorical painting is unclear. Venus and Cupid, the gods of love, recline entwined on blue drapery. Their attributes - a bow, quiver and arrows for Cupid, and roses for Venus - are displayed beside them. As they kiss, Venus stealthily draws an arrow from Cupid’s quiver but some upturned arrows risk sliding out and piercing Venus’s leg. Two masks, symbols of deceit, hang from Cupid’s bow. Florentine artist Tosini painted the scene in a Mannerist style, with exaggerated and elongated figures. This painting is his response to a lost cartoon, of the same subject, by Michelangelo.