AN ALLEGORY WITH VENUS AND CUPID by Agnolo Bronzino: A Visual Riddle

[@bethanyjjmiller]

"Visual Poetry" is the exact right description! This wonderful piece certainly deserves to be debated. Thank you for the commentary and for the link to your thesis. I'm so intrigued in the masks now.

[@sonnybobbie22]

This was amazing and very eye opening. I love your channel and I can’t wait to read your thesis after watching this video!

[@magicknight13]

Subscribed immediately! Love the interest and passion in these incredible artworks !

[@blakiwhite5664]

Thank you! I've recently become fascinated with this painting.

[@aboutartbytatyana]

Your welcome! Thanks for watching!

[@hollandmerrill4369]

Will you make more videos about morbid paintings? Also I love your videos. Thank you for the new hyper fixation!

[@Sassari2930]

Thanks for the interesting video and especially the closeups of the work. My only comment is that the snake/lion girl is obviously seen from behind if we look at her thumbs, so her "right hand" is actually her left and vice versa.

[@denisecarrick5220]

I loved this, Tatyana. You make it so interesting. Can you make a vlog on The Hermitage?

[@aboutartbytatyana]

Thank you :) Yes I can! Any works of art in particular you would like me to focus on in The Hermitage?

[@denisecarrick5220]

@@aboutartbytatyana I hope to visit when the virus is over. The sculptures look interesting especially The Grace's. What are your favourites?

[@aboutartbytatyana]

@@denisecarrick5220 Nice! The Three Graces is certainly a beautiful work of art :) I myself love the work of El Greco, so I would have to say his painting of the Apostles Peter and Paul would be my favourite work there. The Hermitage is on my list for future vlogs, and I will certainly include The Three Graces! I will let you know when it's in the making...

[@denisecarrick5220]

@@aboutartbytatyana Fabulous. I also like El Greco.

[@killazx9]

What about the posture of cupid? It looks very unnatural and my first reaction was, are there actually 2 different persons there? The position of the head seems detached from the body. If you trace the approximate location of the right shoulder, the head seems to be to far away from it. What is your take on this? And cupid's face is very baby face like (a young kid), the body is a full grown adult like. He (the body) is as tall as Venus. I understand the body is wearing a strap suggesting a quiver.

[@theoldar]

To me, the person with the mask for a head is pulling the blue cloth back, revealing the scene, while the Chronos figure is trying to pull the cloth back over and cover the lovers. I'm sure that some interpretation fits with that!

[@aboutartbytatyana]

Absolutely, that is definitely a valid interpretation! As you'll probably remember from the video, AMBIGUITY was a big part of this painting and its possible meanings. The very discussion we are having now (concerning the figures' likely actions) is precisely what Bronzino was hoping to provoke in creating this iconography and composition :)

[@MrUmbraa]

Nice!!!!

[@Romero1776]

Kinda funny if Bronzino intentionally meant to represent the pile of masks in a way of representing the Human Psyche as well with the id(devil mask or devil on the shoulder), superego(The other mask facing a way could represent a more pure version/persona or the angel on the shoulder) and the ego(the one mask crushed beneath both other masks sort of similar to the modern psychological interpretion of the ego as a mediator or actually ourselves being the person consciously mediating the suggestions of the id and superego). As well in this case of this erotic scene between Venus and Cupid we can see how Bronzino paints the more demonic mask(id) in a more prominent location which is definitely the more appropriate location for representation of Cupids psyche in this moment , the pure face mask(superego) placed looking away from the viewer and the bottom mask(ego) smothered beneath both of these two that we cannot see could represent Cupid psyche/ego at this moment or a representation us as an individual and the human psyche in regards to how we can sometimes get caught up or consumed with our impulses(id or super ego) at times, but as you said there are so many allegories and possible meanings , definitely another brother that was ahead of his time. Thanks for introducing me to Bronzino's works.

[@michaeljohnangel6359]

Robertson Davies in his great book "What's Bread in the Bone" has a fascinating interpretation of this painting. If you haven't read it, you must!!! (It's a novel about a forger.)

[@aboutartbytatyana]

Thank you for the recommendation! :)

[@forsterarts]

Interesting in this time of masks. I am reading your paper now. I was reading about syphilis in Europe, and there seems to be some controversy as to its origin. It seems that there was some confusion in diagnoses as to it being syphilis or the plague. And that heavy makeup and wigs were used to cover the lesions and balding heads. Also quarantine seems to be Italian in origin meaning a span of 40 days in which a ship may be harbored to show it did not contain the plague. By comparison there do not seem to be rivers and grave yards filling with corpses as it did in antique Europe. The larger question posed, is how is this relevant today? What we don't see in the painting is Psyche! By modern psychiatric standards doesn't the son who is the defender of the mother often turn out to be a narcissist?

[@kitharoidos1089]

3:09 Monty Python fans are most likely familiar with this foot 😉