CRANACH, Lucas the Elder
(b. 1472, Kronach, d. 1553, Weimar)

Venus and Cupid

1525
Oil on panel, 39 x 26 cm
Private collection

Cranach's depictions of the female nude, with their sophisticated sensuality and smooth, sinuous contours, have long been among the most coveted and successful of his creations. This example, which dates to 1525, is among the earliest of Cranach's intimate small scale panels of the subject of Venus and Cupid.