"Allegory with Venus and Cupid" - one of the most sensual and frank paintings of the Renaissance. Painted in Mannerist style, rich in imagery and secret allegories, it raises many questions for the modern viewer.
Agnolo Bronzino. Allegory with Venus and Cupid
If we are talking about a love scene, why did the artist Agnolo Bronzino paint several more characters whose age does not dispose them to love affairs. There is a boy with a bouquet of flowers, an elderly but still sturdy old man looking out from behind a screen, a girl whose lower torso resembles a character from horror movies - if you look closely, you can see that she has the paws of a lion and the tail of a boa constrictor, and a man screaming in pain, the mere sight of whom can discourage the most passionate lover. Let's get to the bottom of this.
This painting was ordered to the artist by the Grand Duke of Tuscany Cosimo I Medici as a gift for the French King Francis I. At that time, such paintings were usually never exhibited for public viewing, and were intended solely for the decoration of the bedroom and boudoir of monarchs, so the artist could afford to depict more racy subjects than was customary and not to look back on the strict church morality.
Portrait of Francis I
Francis I himself was a great lover of women and love affairs. One wife and a few pretty minions was not enough for him, so he organized a harem in the manner of the eastern lord, where at his service was always a lot of amateurs to serve the king. And he did not use his power too often, he preferred to negotiate with the ladies in a good way, gave expensive gifts and offered their husbands and relatives enviable positions, so he usually never knew refusal.
But soon went beyond all limits, and the news of his unbridled love affairs, in which Francis I did not know any measure and resorted to the most unbridled fantasy, spread throughout Europe. Cosimo I Medici decided to hurt Francis I and ordered Bronzino to paint Venus and her son Cupid in the foreground, thus clearly hinting at the French king's excessively frivolous behavior.
Agnolo Bronzino. Allegory with Venus and Cupid. Fragment
And what all this can lead to is shown by the screaming man. His skin is earthy in color, his fingers are curled, and he is clearly suffering from syphilis. By the way, Francis I contracted syphilis at the age of 18, but it had no effect on his love affairs. However, such a turbulent life coupled with the disease prematurely aged the monarch, and at the age of 50 he already looked like a profound old man.
Agnolo Bronzino. Allegory with Venus and Cupid. Fragment
Well, the boy with flowers is a living embodiment of stupidity. If you look closely, you can see that a pink thorn has pierced his heel, but he does not notice it at all, just as a hopelessly and passionately in love young man does not notice the indiscretion and irrationality of his actions. Francis I was a naturally gifted man, but he wasted all his abilities on love affairs and persuasion of ladies, and he simply had no time to deal with public affairs.
Agnolo Bronzino. Allegory with Venus and Cupid. Detail of the painting
The girl with the tail of the serpent, who represents duplicity and treachery, is an allusion to the Countess d'Etamp, the king's favorite. It was she who for 16 years held all the power in France, the king could not make any important decision without her advice.
But even this was not enough for Bronzino, and he also depicted the god of time, Chronos. The hint is quite clear - the ruler of a large country should not waste his time so thoughtlessly in pursuit of pleasures, there are more important, albeit less pleasant, things to do.
Agnolo Bronzino. Allegory with Venus and Cupid. fragment
Indeed, a whole message in one picture with a lot of not the most pleasant hints. So everything is much more complicated and interesting than it seems at first glance.
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