Venus and Amor

The half figure of an almost naked woman represents a mythological and allegorical portrait and a nude at the same time. One version of the mythological and allegorical portrait work of the Mannerist period celebrated the spiritual and moral capacity of the models and their ability to carry out outstanding acts through the ideals of heroes. The return to ancient times enabled comparisons with heroic acts, the expression of the desire for immortality, while approaching the theme of physical sensuality.

The depiction of Venus with Amor could also be originally a heroic crypto-portrait of an actual person. It was a very delicate method of enabling the expression of any superior status. The alternative, along with the identification with an ancient hero, elevated the depicted person to an ideal (celestial) sphere. A window on the world (analogical to the backgrounds of a limitless world) without any further relation of the figures is only a decorative component, similar to the slightly articulated plinth on which the female figure is leaning. The emotional sincerity of the work was achieved by temperate naturalism combined with purposeful idealization, by means of which the artist’s figures became untouchable and less realistic.

The creator of this painting trained and worked at the prosperous Florence workshop of Ridolfo Ghirlandaia. Although it is difficult to identify the most significant students of the workshop, the most ambitious seemed to be Michele Tosini (1503–1577), along with Antonio del Ceraiola (documented in 1520–1538), who later became independent and successfully operated a workshop and employed many students and assistants. Individual commissions surely overlapped, however they had to be sufficiently productive.

Tosini received modest commissions, but he was a gifted businessman and he had a solid income. Although his projects were rather limited in artistic terms, he received commissions from significant religious orders. Clients were more interested in the reputation of the creator with a retrospective orientation; the nature of their patronage also had social basis.

Zuzana Ludiková ● LUDIKOVÁ, Zuzana - BURAN, Dušan. Talianska maľba = Italian Painting. Bratislava : Slovenská národná galéria, 2013. 242 strán. ISBN 9788080591748.