| Cupid Untying the Zone of Venus | |
|---|---|
 The Hermitage copy. | |
| Artist | Joshua Reynolds |
| Year | 1784 (copies 1785 and 1788) |
| Medium | oil on canvas |
| Location | Tate Britain (copies in Soane Museum and Hermitage Museum) |
Cupid Untying the Zone of Venus (originally entitled A Nymph and Cupid: 'The Snake in the Grass' or The Snake in the Grass, or Love unloosing the zone of Beauty; later also known as Love and Beauty and Cupid Untying the Girdle of Venus) is a painting by Joshua Reynolds.[1] It shows Cupid untying the girdle of his mother Venus – the latter was modelled on Emma Hart.
Provenance
The earliest version was that exhibited in 1784 and bought by the Tate Gallery in 1871.[2] A 1785 autograph copy made for Reynolds' niece the Marchioness of Thomond was bought at the sale of her collection in May 1821 by Sir John Soane – it is thus now in the Soane Museum.[3] In 1788, Lord Carysfort commissioned an autograph copy to present to Prince Grigory Potemkin, which is now in the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg.[4][5][6]
References
- ^ "Nacía Sir Joshua Reynolds". Universia España. Archived from the original on 17 April 2018. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
- ^ "Cupid Untying the Zone of Venus". Tate. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
- ^ "The Snake in the Grass; or Love unloosing the zone of Beauty". Sir John Soane's Museum London. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
- ^ "Cupid Untying the Zone of Venus". Hermitage Museum. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
- ^ "Cupid Untying the Zone of Venus". Web Gallery of Art. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
- ^ "Cupid Untying the Zone of Venus". Useum. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
This page was last edited on 19 June 2023, at 07:44