Artwork
Venus and Cupid
Venus and Cupid is a print by the Impressionist artist Henri Fantin-Latour. It dates from 1892 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.
- Accession no.
- 1956.640
- Credit line
- Mr. and Mrs. Lewis B. Williams Collection
About this work
Overview
Henri Fantin‑Latour’s 1892 print Venus and Cupid presents a classical scene in which a female figure, identified as Venus, sits upon a rock and cradles a small child, representing Cupid. The composition isolates the two figures against a dark, indistinct background, emphasizing their forms and the intimate gesture between them.
Subject & Meaning
The work draws on the myth of Venus, the Roman goddess of love, and her son Cupid, symbolising affection and desire. By portraying the pair in a quiet, domestic pose, Fantin‑Latour shifts the narrative from overt mythic drama to a more personal, contemplative moment, inviting reflection on the tender bond between mother and child.
Technique & Style
Executed with soft, smudged lines, the print employs subtle gradations of tone to model light and shadow, creating a hazy, dreamlike atmosphere. This approach aligns with late‑nineteenth‑century academic practices that favored delicate rendering of the human figure while allowing the background to recede into obscurity.
History & Provenance
Created in the final decade of Fantin‑Latour’s career, the piece reflects his occasional forays beyond still‑life and portraiture into allegorical subjects. Venus and Cupid entered the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art, where it remains part of the museum’s holdings of 19th‑century French prints.
Context
The print emerged during a period when French academic art continued to engage with historical and mythological themes, even as avant‑garde movements such as Impressionism were gaining prominence. Fantin‑Latour’s choice of a classical subject demonstrates the persistence of traditional narrative content within the broader artistic climate of the 1890s.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Ignace Henri Jean Theodore Fantin-Latour (French pronunciation:; 14 January 1836 – 25 August 1904) was a French painter and lithographer best known for his flower paintings and group portraits of Parisian artists and writers.
