Artwork
Venus Blindfolding Cupid
Venus Blindfolding Cupid is an oil painting by the Mannerist artist Andrea Schiavone. It dates from 1560 and is held in the collection of the Nationalmuseum.
About this work
Overview
Andrea Schiavone’s oil painting *Venus Blindfolding Cupid*, executed around 1560, presents a mythological tableau in which the goddess Venus is shown covering the eyes of her son Cupid. The work exemplifies the Mannerist aesthetic with its elongated forms and intricate composition, and it is part of the Nationalmuseum’s collection.
Subject & Meaning
The scene draws on the classical story of Venus, the deity of love, temporarily depriving Cupid of sight, perhaps to suggest the paradox of love’s blindness. Venus is seated in a white garment with a green sash, while the winged child rests on her lap, emphasizing the intimate, instructional moment between mother and son.
Technique & Style
Schiavone combines the exaggerated poses typical of Mannerism with a Venetian colour palette reminiscent of Titian. The painting’s muted browns, greens, and reds are rendered with careful modelling of light and shadow, employing chiaroscuro to give the figures a three‑dimensional presence against a distant, cloud‑filled landscape.
History & Provenance
Born Andrea Meldolla in Dalmatia, Schiavone spent most of his career in Venice, where he absorbed local influences while maintaining a distinct, stylised approach. The canvas entered the Nationalmuseum’s holdings in the 20th century, where it remains on display as a representative example of his mature work.
Context
Created during the late Renaissance, the painting reflects the period’s fascination with mythological subjects and the Mannerist tendency toward complex, artificial arrangements. Schiavone’s synthesis of Venetian colourism and the elongated, elegant figures of Mannerism situates the work within the transitional currents that preceded the Baroque.
Artist & collection
Artist
Andrea Meldolla (Croatian: Andrija Medulić), also known as Andrea Schiavone or Andrea lo Schiavone, literally "Andrew the Slav", (c.
