Venus mars and cupid guercino biography
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Venus, Mars and Cupid
Between 1632 and 1633 Guercino painted portraits of Duke Francesco I and his consort Maria Farnese (now lost) and was accompanied to Modena by his pupil Matteo Loves. It was probably on this occasion that he received the commission for the painting of Venus, Mars and Cupid: the work was executed as part of a cycle intended to decorate the Room of Dreams in the Ducal Palace in Sassuolo.
The painting immediately captivates because in front of it the viewer becomes the object towards which Cupid directs his arrow. The scene is divided into two parts: on the right are depicted Venus and Cupid who, with the light of their half-naked bodies, emerge from the dark background, while on the left is depicted Mars in armour, who with a quick gesture uncovers the scene by opening a curtain. The iconography is unusual in that it is not Mars who is the object of the god of Love but, following his mother’s gesture, Cupid extends his bow, turning it outside the painting. It is Venus’s hand that indicates to Cupid the destination for his arrow, perhaps ideally aimed at Francesco I, the commissioner of the work. To confirm this hypothesis, on the quiver, placed under the left hand of Venus, is painted the eagle, the Este symbol par excellence.
The goddess, ha
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Venus, Cupid and Mars
Painting by Guercino
Venus, Cupid and Mars is a 1633 oil-on-canvas painting by the Italian Baroque painter Guercino, commissioned by Francesco I d'Este for his Ducal Palace of Sassuolo around 1632–1633, when the artist was in that city to paint portraits of the d'Este family.[1] It is now in the Galleria Estense in Modena.
History
[edit]The final payment for the work was made on 18 January 1634, with Guercino receiving the balance from Cesare Cavazza, the court chamberlain or 'guardarobiere', a sum equal to 126 scudi – the advance on the work is unknown but was probably about 30 scudi.[1] Guercino's biographer Carlo Cesare Malvasia states it was the first he produced in 1634, "Made for a gentleman in Modena, a canvas to give to the Most Serene [Duke] of that place, showing a Venus with an archer Cupid sitting by her, and a Mars".[1] A document of November 1633 from Guercino to Cavazza refers to a painting then in progress for the duke, hoping to finish it soon and deliver it before Christmas that same year, as most probably happened given the payment date.[1]
It was recorded in the 'camera dei Sogni' in the palace between 1692 and 1694[1] before Francesco III d'Este took it to Modena after