# Venus and Cupid

**Lorenzo Lotto** (Italian, 1475–1556)  
1520s  
Oil on canvas  
36 3/8 x 43 7/8 in. (92.4 x 111.4 cm)

Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1986.138. [The museum's record](https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/436918).

## About this work

Venus reclines on draperies beneath a hanging shell, wearing a bridal crown and veil, while a mischievous Cupid urinates through a myrtle wreath onto her lap, an earthy wish for fertility and good fortune in marriage. The painting was probably made to celebrate a wedding, and its many symbols, from the incense burner to the scattered rose petals, would have been read by the couple and their guests as hopes for love and children. Lorenzo Lotto combined such playful details with cool, luminous colour and a lively sense of humour.

_Written by Ochre Editions._

Lorenzo Lotto painted this in the 1520s, aged about 45. It is now at The Met in New York.

### 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.

### [Lorenzo Lotto](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/lorenzo-lotto)

Italian, 1475–1556; born in Venice; died in Loreto

Lotto was born in Venice but spent much of his restless career elsewhere: in Treviso, Bergamo and the towns of the Marches, with a stay in Rome. Away from the shadow of Titian, he developed an intensely individual style, with sharp colour, unconventional compositions and portraits of unusual psychological depth. His surviving account book records his often precarious finances. He ended his life as an oblate at the shrine of the Holy House at Loreto.

_Written by Ochre Editions._

## Facts

- Type: Paintings
- The artist was about 45
- Real size: about 36 × 44 in (92 × 111 cm). The original is larger than our largest print, 24 × 36 in, so every print is a reduction.
- Century: 16th century
- Subjects: Female Nudes, Cupid, Venus
- Colour: red
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/1123.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/1123/1920.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
- 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
- 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
- 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

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/venus-and-cupid-met-436918).