Venus with a Satyr and Two Cupids

Venus with a Satyr and Two Cupids or The Bacchante (La Baccante) is an oil painting on canvas executed ca. 1588–1590 by the Italian painter Annibale Carracci, now in the Uffizi in Florence.^[1][2] Its dating is based on its strong Venetian influence – the artist was briefly in the city at the end of the 1580s.^[3]

The work is first recorded in 1620, when the Bolognese gentleman Camillo Bolognetti sold it to an emissary from Cosimo II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany.^[4] It was then taken to Florence and remained in the Medici collections, displayed in the Tribuna of the Uffizi and appearing in the top left of Johann Zoffany's painting of the same name beside Guido Reni's Charity and directly above Raphael's Madonna della Seggiola. Because of its erotic charge, the painting was covered during the 18th century by another canvas and not uncovered until early in the 19th century.

Given the explicit sensuality of the painting, a sexual allusion has been detected in the work, further underlined by the contrast between the opulent and pink forms of Venus with the dark ones of the satyr, in turn an emblem of erotic instinct, and by the satyr's offering to the goddess of a cup of grapes, the Dionysian fruit par excellence.^[3]

These are recurring themes in "chamber" paintings, intended for the strictly private spaces of stately homes and often characterised by themes of erotic content, for the delight of the master of the house.^[3]

Although it is hardly doubtful that the painting also has this value, at the same time, a moral subtext has been perceived in it.^[5] Indeed, it is noticeable that the goddess avoids the satyr's approach and instead modestly covers herself with a white cloth. But it is above all the action of the two putti that reveals this edifying aspect. The one on the bottom left grabs Venus' thigh – almost as if to support the satyr's attack – and sticks out his tongue in a lascivious (but also slightly comical) pose, the other, on the top right, arrives in flight and grabs the satyr by the horns, stopping his momentum.

The two putti, therefore, are none other than Eros and Anteros, in perpetual conflict with each other, as is the continuous struggle between the "low" instincts of the body and passions (Eros) and the high inspirations of spiritual and virtuous love (Anteros). As the morality of the time dictates, the palm of victory is destined for Anteros, who in fact is about to crown Venus with a garland.^[5]

The Venus in this painting may be understood as the "Celestial Venus", that is, that facet of the goddess who embodies the "noble" aspects of love – which ultimately refer to the love of God – as opposed to the "Earthly Venus" (or "Vulgar") which, on the contrary, symbolizes the "worse" aspects of this feeling: vanity, the transience of passions and lasciviousness.^[5]

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  Cornelis Cort (after Titian), Diana and Callisto, 1566, British Museum, London
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  Annibale Carracci, Jupiter and Antiope or Venus Uncovered by a Satyr, 1592, Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe
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  The Chrysler Museum copy or replica

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