Venus with Cupid the Honey Thief
ca. 1580–1620
Medium
Oil on oak panel
Dimensions
14 5/16 x 9 15/16 in. (36.3 x 25.2 cm)
Classification
Paintings
Department
Robert Lehman Collection
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Robert Lehman Collection, 1975
Accession Number
1975.1.135
Tags
Art Historical Context
Lucas Cranach the Elder’s *Venus with Cupid the Honey Thief* presents a charming yet cautionary mythological scene. Painted in oil on a small oak panel, the work depicts Venus watching as her son Cupid attempts to steal honey a hive, only to stung by bees. This playful subject draws from ancient tales that liken the fleeting sweetness of honey to the pains of love, a theme popular in Northern Renaissance courts. Cranach, a leading German artist of the sixteenth century, frequently explored classical myths with a distinctive linear style and luminous color. Although dated to the late sixteenth...
About the Artist
Lucas Cranach the Elder · 1472–1553
Lucas Cranach the Elder (c. 1472-1553) was one of the most prominent German Renaissance painters and a key artistic figure of the Protestant Reformation. Born in Kronach, Franconia, to the painter Hans Maler, Cranach began his career in Vienna around 1502, where he became one of the founders of the Danube School, a movement characterized by expressive landscape painting and emotional force. His ea...