Venus Whipping Cupid with Roses

Artist: Giovanni Luigi Valesio (Italian, 1583–1633)

Date: early 17th century

Medium: Engraving

Dimensions: Sheet: 7 15/16 x 5 1/4 in. (20.2 x 13.4 cm)

Classification: Prints

Credit Line: Purchase, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, 1917

Accession Number: 17.50.16-188

Description

In this print Venus's halfhearted efforts at disciplining her unruly son are undermined by a smiling satyr, the embodiment of lust. As the inscription states, love is not so easily chastised. Valesio, a poet as well as a prolific engraver who specialized in creating allegorical title pages, designed this work as one of a pair of love allegories.

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