Venus kamt haar van Amor after 1617

Editor: This engraving, "Venus Combing Cupid's Hair" from after 1617, is currently held at the Rijksmuseum and is by an anonymous artist. The scene shows Venus attending to Cupid, but there’s a strange domesticity to it that feels unsettling. How do you interpret this work? Curator: Notice how the artist chose to portray Venus, not as the idealized goddess, but as a woman attending to a child in what feels like an everyday grooming scene. Yet, the loaded symbolism transforms the seemingly banal scene into something altogether different. The bow and quiver lie discarded on the ground; those tools of love are useless while Cupid gets domesticated by Venus. Editor: So you're saying it's less about affection and more about control? Curator: Exactly! Consider also the serpent, an ancient symbol of chaos and temptation, laying subdued beneath them. Does that offer insight? The act of combing – of ordering hair – could signify Venus attempting to tame or control the chaotic forces of love that Cupid represents. Editor: That’s fascinating! I was so focused on the interaction between the figures, but the background and the objects around them tell a much deeper story about power and control. Curator: The baroque loved to play with allegory. But also, perhaps it touches upon our anxieties of societal constraints suppressing natural instincts? Editor: This really makes me think about how images carry meaning, even centuries later. Thanks, that really opened my eyes to seeing art from a completely new angle. Curator: And that, perhaps, is the lasting power of images – their ability to continue sparking new reflections.