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Mars, Venus and Cupid

A work made of engraving in black on cream laid paper.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of engraving in black on cream laid paper.

Date:

1508

Artist:

Marcantonio Raimondi
Italian, 1470/82-1527/34

About this artwork

Marcantonio Raimondi’s engraving Mars, Venus, and Cupid was one of his most sought-after works. Mars, the Roman god of war, and Venus, the goddess of love, are depicted with Cupid in front of a background inspired by Albrecht Dürer. In Roman mythology, the two gods had an affair even though Venus was married to Vulcan, the god of fire. Mars sits with his elbow on his knee as he twists his muscular body to grab Venus by the shoulder. Venus looks down and away, toward Cupid, who pushes a flaming torch, a symbol of passionate love, at her.

Status

On View, Gallery 204

Department

Prints and Drawings

Artist

Marcantonio Raimondi

Title

Mars, Venus and Cupid

Place

Italy (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1508

Medium

Engraving in black on cream laid paper

Dimensions

Image: 29.9 × 21 cm (11 13/16 × 8 5/16 in.); Plate: 30.2 × 21.5 cm (11 15/16 × 8 1/2 in.); Sheet: 34 × 25 cm (13 7/16 × 9 7/8 in.)

Credit Line

The Amanda S. Johnson and Marion J. Livingston Fund

Reference Number

2010.47

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/202430/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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