Education of Love c. 19th century

Curator: There’s something so tender about this image. Mauro Gandolfi's "Education of Love" shows Venus guiding Cupid in the art of archery, or maybe simply aiming, hard to tell. The embrace feels so gentle. Editor: It does have a soft quality. The way the figures are nestled within that circular frame creates such an intimate viewing experience, almost like peering into a private world. But is it really about education? Curator: Well, perhaps ‘education’ is too literal. Maybe it’s more about the transmission of desire. Gandolfi's lifetime spanned a period of immense political and social change, and these classical themes served to highlight the unchanging nature of human emotion, don't you think? Editor: That's an interesting point, seeing the timelessness in it. I suppose, beyond the mythology, it is about that universal human experience—the delicate art of teaching and learning about love. Curator: Exactly! And it is a two-way street, like all good pedagogy. I walk away from this piece wondering if I've been paying close enough attention to how I am being taught to love, still, at my age. Editor: Hmm, food for thought. I, for one, now feel I understand a little bit better how art is shaped by the forces around it.