Venus Catching Love or Venus Flogging Love 1736 - 1746

This print, "Venus Catching Love", was created by Anne Claude Philippe Caylus in France, most likely in the first half of the 18th century. It depicts Venus, the goddess of love, in pursuit of Cupid. Caylus was an amateur artist but an important figure in the French academy. His knowledge of classical antiquity profoundly shaped French artistic taste. This print offers a fascinating glimpse into the artistic debates of the time. The image's meaning emerges from its engagement with classical mythology, reinterpreted through the lens of 18th-century French society. The comical scene may represent a challenge to the established artistic norms of the French Royal Academy, which held up idealized, highly finished artworks as the standard to which artists should aspire. Scholars have access to Caylus’s extensive writings, which offer further clues. Only through considering the social and institutional context in which art is made can we fully understand its historical significance.