Venus and Cupid riding two sea monsters, Cupid raises an arrow in his right hand, two heads representing wind in the clouds above
Original title: Venus and Cupid riding two sea monsters, Cupid raises an arrow in his right hand, two heads representing wind in the clouds above
kurzbeschreibung
Venus and Amor ride astride two sea monsters in this engraving by Marco Dente, made around 1515–27. The print lays out the mythic episode with a wealth of incident, from the rearing creatures beneath the riders to the coastal scenery behind them.
Description
Venus and Amor sit on the backs of serpent-like sea creatures; Amor raises an arrow in his right hand while Venus, placed behind him, looks the same way. Two cloud heads with radiating beams, personifying the wind gods, appear in the sky. A shoreline with buildings and mountains supplies the setting. Everything stays in a single tone, with hatching and linework modelling light and shade.
Context
Marco Dente, a Renaissance engraver from Italy, worked in the shop of Marcantonio Raimondi. This sheet dates from the first half of the sixteenth century, when mythological subjects found a wide audience in print. Dente often drew on designs by other artists, helping to spread Renaissance iconography further afield.
Impact
Precise execution and the animated grouping of the figures give the print a lively presence. Because the technique remains monochrome, drawing and pictorial structure come to the fore, in a manner characteristic of the Renaissance.
Technique
For this engraving the lines were cut into a metal plate and then printed onto paper. Fine hatching builds tone and a sense of volume, a hallmark of printmaking of the period.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)