Venus and Cupid, second plate 1895

Henri Fantin-Latour created this lithograph titled 'Venus and Cupid, second plate'. Fantin-Latour worked during a period of significant social change, and he was part of a generation grappling with shifting gender roles. He presents to us the classical goddess of love, Venus, along with her son Cupid. In many portrayals of Venus, from antiquity to the Renaissance, she is seen as a symbol of beauty and desire, often passive and idealized. However, in Fantin-Latour’s rendering, Venus exudes a sense of self-possession and quiet strength. By diverging from traditional depictions, the artist offers a revised narrative of female representation, where Venus exists not merely as an object of desire, but as a figure with her own agency. As we consider the history of representation, we are invited to reflect on the stories we tell about ourselves and each other. In this small but mighty lithograph, perhaps Fantin-Latour hints at the possibility of re-writing these narratives, envisioning new ways of seeing and being seen.