The Collection
The American Wing Ancient Near Eastern Art Arms and Armor The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing Asian Art The Cloisters The Costume Institute Drawings and Prints Egyptian Art European Paintings European Sculpture and Decorative Arts Greek and Roman Art Islamic Art Robert Lehman Collection The Libraries Medieval Art Musical Instruments Photographs Antonio Ratti Textile Center Modern and Contemporary Art

Venus und Amor

Lorenzo Lotto Italian

Mitte der 1520er

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 608

Inspiration für das Thema dieses Bildes vom unkonventionellsten Genie der venezianischen Renaissance waren klassische Hochzeitsgedichte; das Bild wurde höchstwahrscheinlich anlässlich einer Hochzeit gemalt. Venus könnte sogar ein Porträt der Braut sein. Die Muschel über dem Kopf der Venus und die Rosenblütenblätter in ihrem Schoß sind übliche Merkmale der Göttin. Der Efeu symbolisiert eheliche Treue, während der Myrtenkranz und die davon herabhängende Feuerschale Requisiten der Ehekammer sind. Venus trägt den Ohrring und das Diadem einer Braut des 16. Jahrhunderts. Amors Urinieren durch den Myrtenkranz ist eine Fruchtbarkeitsprophezeiung und verleiht diesem sehr privaten Bild eine unbeschwerte Atmosphäre.

Venus and Cupid, Lorenzo Lotto (Italian, Venice ca. 1480–1556 Loreto), Oil on canvas — This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Venus and Cupid, Lorenzo Lotto (Italian, Venice ca. 1480–1556 Loreto), Oil on canvas

Venus and Cupid, Lorenzo Lotto (Italian, Venice ca. 1480–1556 Loreto), Oil on canvas

Venus and Cupid, Lorenzo Lotto (Italian, Venice ca. 1480–1556 Loreto), Oil on canvas

Venus and Cupid, Lorenzo Lotto (Italian, Venice ca. 1480–1556 Loreto), Oil on canvas

Venus and Cupid, Lorenzo Lotto (Italian, Venice ca. 1480–1556 Loreto), Oil on canvas

Venus and Cupid, Lorenzo Lotto (Italian, Venice ca. 1480–1556 Loreto), Oil on canvas

Venus and Cupid, Lorenzo Lotto (Italian, Venice ca. 1480–1556 Loreto), Oil on canvas

Venus and Cupid, Lorenzo Lotto (Italian, Venice ca. 1480–1556 Loreto), Oil on canvas

Venus and Cupid, Lorenzo Lotto (Italian, Venice ca. 1480–1556 Loreto), Oil on canvas

This artwork is meant to be viewed from right to left. Scroll left to view more.

This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Fig. 1. Line engraving (from Salomon Reinach, "Répertoire de peintures du moyen age et de la renaissance (1280–1580)," Paris, vol. 4, 1918, p. 652)

This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Fig. 2. Plate from Cesare Vecellio, "Habiti antichi et moderni," Venice, 1598

Fig. 3. Plate from Francesco Colonna, "Hypnerotomachia Poliphili," Venice, 1499

This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Fig. 4. Before cleaning (from Bernard Berenson, "Lotto," 3rd ed., Milan, 1955, pl. 258)

This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Fig. 5. Painting in frame: overall

Fig. 6. Painting in frame: corner

Fig. 7. Painting in frame: angled corner

This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Fig. 8. Profile drawing of frame. W 6 9/16 in. 16.6 cm (T. Newbery)

Titel: Venus und Amor

Künstler: Lorenzo Lotto, Italien, ca. 1480–1556

Datum: Mitte der 1520er

Medium: Öl auf Leinwand

Dimensionen: 92,4 x 111,4 cm

Anerkennung: Neuerwerb, Geschenk von Mrs. Charles Wrightsman, zu Ehren von Marietta Tree, 1986

Akzession Nr.: 1986.138

Detail view of a Titian painting depicting Venus lying on a bed with a lute player and a cherub

"Where did Praxiteles see me naked?" Depictions of Venus in Sixteenth-Century Italian Painting

Curator Keith Christiansen explores a provocative new juxtaposition of four paintings by Veronese, Titian, and Lotto, all of which depict Venus, the goddess of love.

The Met Fifth facade

La Serenissima: Venetian Glory in The Met's Galleries

Curator Andrea Bayer surveys a selection of The Met's Venetian paintings ahead of a series of talks she will give in February, Celebrating La Serenissima.

Two black and white photographs—on the left is Gwen Roginsky and on the right is her teenage daughter Ana Sofia—both are standing in a gallery at The Met

Connections: Olympians

Associate publisher Gwen Roginsky and her teenage daughter Ana Sofia Meneses relish the drama of the dysfunctional family that is the Olympians.

Black and white photograph of editorial assistant Nadja Hansen in The Met galleries

Connections: Date Night

Editorial assistant Nadja Hansen expounds on why the Met is a great place for a date.

The Wrightsman Pictures

The Wrightsman Pictures

The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Masterpiece Paintings

The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Masterpiece Paintings

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (Spanish)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (Spanish)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (Russian)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (Russian)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (Portuguese)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (Portuguese)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (Korean)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (Korean)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (Japanese)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (Japanese)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (Italian)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (Italian)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (German)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (German)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (French)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (French)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (Chinese)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (Chinese)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (Arabic)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (Arabic)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide

Recent Acquisitions: A Selection, 1986–1987

Recent Acquisitions: A Selection, 1986–1987

Philippe de Montebello and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1977–2008

Philippe de Montebello and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1977–2008

One Met. Many Worlds.

One Met. Many Worlds.

Metropolitan Jewelry

Metropolitan Jewelry

Masterpieces of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Masterpieces of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Masterpieces of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Masterpieces of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

European Paintings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art by Artists Born before 1865: A Summary Catalogue

European Paintings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art by Artists Born before 1865: A Summary Catalogue

Art and Love in Renaissance Italy

Art and Love in Renaissance Italy

Art = Discovering Infinite Connections in Art History

Art = Discovering Infinite Connections in Art History

"North of the Apennines: Sixteenth-Century Italian Painting in Venice and the Veneto"

"North of the Apennines: Sixteenth-Century Italian Painting in Venice and the Veneto"

"North of the Apennines: Sixteenth-Century Italian Painting in Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna"

"North of the Apennines: Sixteenth-Century Italian Painting in Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna"

See more

The Met's Libraries and Research Centers provide unparalleled resources for research and welcome an international community of students and scholars.

The Met Collection API is where all makers, creators, researchers, and dreamers can connect to the most up-to-date data and public domain images for The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.

The Met

European Paintings at The Met

The Met's celebrated European Paintings collection encompasses more than 2,500 works of art from the thirteenth through the early twentieth century.