Cupid Chastised1613
This dramatic scene by Bartolomeo Manfredi shows Mars, the god of war, beating Cupid for having caused his affair with Venus, the goddess of love. More about this work
About this work
This dramatic scene by Bartolomeo Manfredi shows Mars, the god of war, beating Cupid for having caused his affair with Venus, the goddess of love. The sheer physicality of the figures as well as the bold illumination from the left further the work's dynamism. The composition is on one level a tale of domestic disturbance but also symbolizes the eternal conflict between love and war.
Text from the Art Institute of Chicago.
What you’re looking at
Large painting of cupid being whipped, a woman tries to hold back the a man in red dress.
Description from the Art Institute of Chicago.
How it was made
- Oil paint
- Pigment ground in a drying oil, usually linseed. It dries slowly, so painters could blend on the canvas, build up thin translucent glazes, and rework a picture over weeks. Canvas replaced wooden panels in the 1500s because it is lighter and can be rolled.
Bartolomeo Manfredi
Italian, 1582–1622
Rights and the museum’s record
Public domain. The Art Institute of Chicago has dedicated this image to the public domain under CC0, so anyone may copy, adapt and use it, for any purpose, without asking. Our prints and files are reproductions made from the museum’s image; the museum doesn’t endorse them.
- Object number
- 1947.58
- Credit
- Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
- Type
- Painting
- Department
- Painting and Sculpture of Europe
- Licence
- CC0 1.0 Universal
- Museum record
- See it on the museum’s site
