Venus and the lute player

Titian (ca. 1488-1576)

Item type:

painting

Date of creation:

ca. 1565–1570

Height:

165.1 cm  (65 in.)

Width:

209.6 cm  (82 1/2 in.)

Technique / Medium:

oil on canvas

School:

Venetian School

Description

Depiction of Venus reclining on a bed and crowned by Cupid (the signifier for the visual narrative of love). Venus is holding a recorder, and on the very right side of the painting one can see a viol bass depicted from the back. Left of Venus is a lute player (back view). On the ledge as well as in front of Venus are music sheets with no legible music. In the far background of the image (within a landscape) is a group of satyrs dancing and Pan playing the bagpipe. The painting depicts an allegory of music.

Iconclass

92C454
Venus and Cupid (Cupid not being mere attribute)
92C47
specific aspects, allegorical aspects of Venus; Venus as patroness
92L57
specific aspects, allegorical aspects of Pan; Pan as patron
92L417
satyr(s) (in general) - specific aspects, allegorical aspects, as patron of
48C70
'Musica', symbolic representations, allegories and emblems ~ music; 'Musica'(Ripa)

Instruments [MIMO Code] (notes)

Lute [3394]
Recorder [4039]
Viola da gamba [3604]
Bagpipe [3746]

RIdIM images

Image URLs

image link 1
image link 2

Notes

There are five known works by Titian on the same subject: two of them in the collection of the Prado Museum (inv.-no.: P00420, P00421), see this database, ID 3329 and 3330; one in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (inv.-no.: 36.29), see this database ID 3331; one in the collection of the Gemäldegalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, see this database ID 3332; and one in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge (inv.-no.: 129), see this database ID 2080.

RIdIM record id

3331