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Allegory of Carnal Love

Five young adult figures sparingly draped in loose fabric and two nude toddler-aged males frolic in a woodland scene. A winged Cupid flies above the group.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • Five young adult figures sparingly draped in loose fabric and two nude toddler-aged males frolic in a woodland scene. A winged Cupid flies above the group.

Date:

c. 1530

Artist:

Cristofano Robetta
Italian, 1462-c.1535

About this artwork

Cristofano Robetta’s Allegory of Carnal Love depicts a scene of love and death in a friezelike composition, with two pairs of lovers in a triangle-like formation with a putto at each point. Standing at the far left of the scene is an enigmatic divine figure drawing in the bodies of the lovers closest to him with his sash. Is he, like the skull underfoot, a symbol of death, reminding the viewer of what lies in store?

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Prints and Drawings

Artist

Cristofano Robetta

Title

Allegory of Carnal Love

Place

Italy (Artist's nationality)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1525–1535

Medium

Engraving on ivory laid paper

Dimensions

30.2 × 20.8 cm (11 15/16 × 8 1/4 in.)

Credit Line

Bequest of Mrs. Potter Palmer, Jr.

Reference Number

1956.1043

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/4370/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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