# Cupid Chastised

**Bartolomeo Manfredi** (Italian, 1582–1622)  
1613  
Oil on canvas  
175.3 × 130.6 cm (69 × 51 3/8 in.)

Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago, 1947.58. [The museum's record](https://www.artic.edu/artworks/59847).

## 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._

Bartolomeo Manfredi painted this in 1613, aged 31. It is now at 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](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/bartolomeo-manfredi)

Italian, 1582–1622

## Facts

- Type: Painting
- Culture: Italy
- The artist was 31
- Real size: about 69 × 51 in (175 × 130 cm). The original is larger than our largest print, 30 × 40 in, so every print is a reduction.
- Century: 17th century
- Movement: [Baroque](https://www.ochreeditions.com/movements/baroque)
- Subjects: cupids, doves, violence, mother, sons, women, men, man
- Colour: black
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/173.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/173/1920.jpg
- Giclée reproduction on Hahnemühle Photo Rag: 8 × 10 in $28; 11 × 14 in $38; 12 × 16 in $42; 16 × 20 in $56; 18 × 24 in $68; 20 × 30 in $86; 24 × 36 in $108; 30 × 40 in $148
- Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138; 18 × 24 in $164; 20 × 30 in $208; 24 × 36 in $258; 30 × 40 in $338
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79; 16 × 20 in $98; 18 × 24 in $118; 20 × 30 in $148; 24 × 36 in $178; 30 × 40 in $228
- Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2; 12 × 16 in $3; 16 × 20 in $3; 18 × 24 in $3; 20 × 30 in $5; 24 × 36 in $5; 30 × 40 in $5

Sizes stop where the museum's file would print below 150 pixels per inch. Everything sold is a reproduction, made to order. [Order a print](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/cupid-chastised-aic-59847).