Allegory of Carnal Love

Prints and Drawings

c. 1530

Cristofano Robetta
Italian, 1462-c.1535

Cristofano Robetta’s Allegory of Carnal Love depicts a scene of love and death in a friezelike composition, with two pairs of lovers in a triangle-like formation with a putto at each point. Standing at the far left of the scene is an enigmatic divine figure drawing in the bodies of the lovers closest to him with his sash. Is he, like the skull underfoot, a symbol of death, reminding the viewer of what lies in store?

Status: Currently Off View
Department: Prints and Drawings

Artist: Cristofano Robetta
Title: Allegory of Carnal Love
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.: 1525–1535
Medium: Engraving on ivory laid paper
Dimensions: 30.2 × 20.8 cm (11 15/16 × 8 1/4 in.)
Credit Line: Bequest of Mrs. Potter Palmer, Jr.
Reference Number: 1956.1043
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/4370/manifest.json

Bartsch, illustrated 2521.043 I/I

Hind D.II.29 I/I

Bartsch B.XIII.406.25

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Artist

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Place

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.

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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.

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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.