Venus, Mars and Cupid

Venus, Mars and Cupid is an oil on panel by Piero di Cosimo, dated around 1505 and now in the Gemäldegalerie in Berlin. Its horizontal format suggests it may have been part of a decorated cassone or a wall panel, though its original setting is not firmly documented. The subject, with its neo-Platonic undertones, echoes Botticelli's Venus and Mars in the National Gallery, London, and both paintings can be read as allegories of love overcoming war. Mars, the god of war, lies asleep after lovemaking, while Venus, nude and wide awake, seems to have won the contest. Cupid and a pair of doves, symbols of tenderness, sit beside her, and a group of putti plays with the god's weapons and armour. The scene unfolds on a meadow among myrtle bushes, the plant associated with the goddess, against a coastal landscape that dissolves into blue tones. Beneath the calm, though, there are signs of unease: Cupid points beyond the frame and some of the putti seem startled, which is usually read as a hint at the fleeting nature of pleasure.

Painter

Piero di Cosimo

Date

1505

Medium

oil paint, poplar panel

Dimensions

72 × 182 cm

Museum

Gemäldegalerie Berlin, Berlin

Genre

mythological painting, nude

Depicts

nudity, Mars, clothing, Eros, sword, Erotes, waist-length hair, sea

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