1563
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Dominant colour
Love in the Elysian Fields is a 1563 by Giulio Bonasone, a Renaissance work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
This painting shows Cupid being punished by those he tormented. He's bound to a tree in the Elysian Fields. The scene is full of action: Venus is beating Cupid with flowers, and laughing souls watch from the sides. Cupid's punishment is a popular subject from Hellenistic art and literature. It was revived in the Renaissance, which is when this painting was made. The story is told in verses on a rock in the painting. To learn more about this style, look up the technique of sfumato.
In this engraving Cupid is shown being punished by those he tormented, a popular subject of Hellenistic art and literature revived in the Renaissance. Bound to a tree in the Elysian Fields, a dwelling place for the virtuous dead, Cupid is watched by the laughing souls of lovers as Venus descends from the sky to beat him with a bouquet of flowers in retribution for the great pain that passion often inflicts. According to the verses on the rock at left, after being whipped Cupid will be set free to escape again "to this world where he triumphs over us."
Read the full account in the museum source.
Giulio Bonasone (c. 1498 – after 1574) (or Giulio de Antonio Buonasone or Julio Bonoso) was an Italian painter and engraver born in Bologna. He possibly studied painting under Lorenzo Sabbatini, and painted a Purgatory…
See the richer artist page
