Venus and Cupid by Evelyn De Morgan (1850-1919). 1878. Oil on canvas. H 152.5 x W 94.4 cm. De Morgan Collection: Accession no. P_EDM_0005. Photographed by Laurent Bury at Wightwick Manor in July 2024. Caption details from Art UK.
Venus has risen from the sea-foam on the shores of Cythera, as the myth has it, and her son Cupid is looking earnestly into her face, his arm round her shoulder, apparently begging her to let him have his bow and arrows back. She is looking sideways, not quite at the imploring imp, as if not yet ready to concede. The painting was shown at the Grosvenor Gallery that year (1878).
Venus was a popular subject, with Edward Burne-Jones's Laus Veneris on display that year in the same gallery, and some critics were rather dismissive of De Morgan's painting, on the grounds that she had been overly influenced by his work. One, the art critic Cosmo Monkhouse, wrote, "There is so much good design, refined feeling, and exquisite execution in Miss E. Pickering’s work that it is a pity to see it so completely wasted by too-close an adherence to the style of Mr. Burne-Jones. ... the type of feature is the same throughout ... and this as well as the quality of the expression on all the faces, seems to be a direct imitation of her master" (qtd. by Denney 140). Annoyed that woman artists should be considered as followers of male ones, rather than in their own right, Colleen Denney points out acerbically, "Burne-Jones has never been Pickering's master teacher" (140).
Closer view of the expressions of the two, and the way Cupid has reached up and put his arm around Venus's shoulder.
The various accurately depicted seashells on the sand around their feet suggest not just their proximity to the sea, but, according to the note on Art UK, "female fertility and sexual potency."
Closer view of the shells on the seashore at the figures' feet.
Links to Related Material
You may use the images without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit Laurent Bury and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one. [Click on the images to enlarge them.]
Bibliography
Denney, Colleen. At the Temple of Art: The Grosvenor Gallery, 1877-1890. London: Associated University Presses, 2000.
Venus and Cupid. Art UK. Web. 8 September 2024.
Created 8 September 2024