Venus en Amor 1683 - 1684

Editor: Here we have "Venus en Amor," or "Venus and Cupid" as it is often known, a baroque engraving dating from about 1683 or 1684. It presents the goddess reclining intimately with Cupid. The work’s anonymous nature sparks an immediate question of who the original designer was and how the reproductive labor of this print speaks to audience needs at that time. It is such a dark work; it projects this kind of enclosed, almost secretive atmosphere. It feels quite sensual, almost heavy with a strange eroticism for something that appears to show such affection. Curator: The erotic charge certainly raises questions. This particular image of Venus, while allegorical, existed in a specific social context where displays of sensuality were often tied to ideas of courtly love and power. How does the engraving technique itself – the specific lines, the ways in which light and shadow are rendered – contribute to the overall message? The skill and labor involved in creating this sort of reproduction certainly played a part in democratizing art for the period, especially with no single known master. Editor: It is curious; thinking about it from a more art historical viewpoint, it follows many of the established visual motifs that we see in art of that period, the pose is not unusual, though the intimacy of the scene feels accentuated somehow, doesn't it? The composition also feels really balanced; almost perfect for a dissemination as print to serve different kind of masters to frame and decor different locations and contexts. Curator: I agree. Consider how that specific compositional skill then translated into tangible economic value in the burgeoning print markets of the time, allowing widespread replication. It brings an almost democratized notion to what was previously luxury to some degree. I wonder where works such this where found...what was their fate after been consumed. Editor: True. Considering that then provides interesting insights into this anonymous engraving, allowing it a broader meaning and deeper value, thank you. Curator: Indeed! Thinking about its creation within a printmaking workshop provides so much to the discussion of period eroticism versus consumption practices... always interesting.