Venus and Cupid; verso: calligraphic strokes c. 17th century

Editor: This drawing, "Venus and Cupid" by the School of Hendrick Goltzius, features delicate lines and a warm palette. The figures seem to exist outside of time. What might this pairing have represented to its original audience? Curator: Considering the historical context, representations of Venus and Cupid often served as allegories for earthly and divine love, but more subtly also reinforced prevailing societal expectations around gender and power. How do you read their gazes? Editor: Venus seems to be looking outward, while Cupid's gaze is directed upwards. Curator: Exactly. And doesn't that upward gaze of Cupid, combined with Venus's outward gaze, suggest a reaching beyond earthly constraints, perhaps even a longing for liberation? Editor: I didn’t think of it that way, but I see it now! Thanks. Curator: It reveals how deeply ingrained these social structures were and still are.