Giorgione
We end our monthly special feature of the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden with this absolute CLASSIC. The painting is one of the most famous works of the Old Masters Dresden Picture Gallery and in the world. It was probably commissioned by Girolamo Marcello from Giorgione on the occasion of his wedding in 1507. It shows the goddess Venus. Amor, actually her constant companion, originally sat at her feet and played with bow and arrow. The condition of the cupid, however, was so precarious that it was painted over with the green of the meadow in 1837 (some fragments of the cupid can be seen in X-ray photos). A document from 1525 reports that the painting was begun by Giorgione and completed by his collaborator Titian. The condition of the painting, however, which has been conserved several times in the past, no longer permits reliable statements as to which parts were painted by which artist.
The client might have thought of Latin wedding poems in which sleeping Venus is asked to wake up and attend the wedding feast so that she can promote the love of the new couple. Giorgione gave the representation of the sleeping goddess a unique, harmonious aura. The contour lines of her body are continued in the soft wavy lines of the landscape, so that the whole picture has an Arcadian calm.
Have a great Sunday!
P.S. There are plenty of depictions of the goddess of love in art. Let's have a look at a few of them (also contemporary!) here.