Venus kamt haar van Amor 1617

Odoardo Fialetti made this etching, Venus combing Cupid's hair, in the early 17th century. The intimate scene departs from more common depictions of Venus, goddess of love, and her son Cupid. The setting is not the court of Olympus but a natural, perhaps domestic space. Prints like these circulated widely in Europe at the time, and while ostensibly about mythological figures, they reflect shifting social norms. The rise of humanist thought and the renaissance of classical art were well established in Venice, where Fialetti was working, but so too was the Catholic Church. The push and pull between secular ideals and religious doctrine shaped the culture of the period. The loving, maternal presentation of Venus, combined with the erotic charge of the nude figures, speaks to this tension. Art historians consult a range of resources to better understand works like this, including period literature, fashion, and other visual art. Contextualizing art within its own time helps reveal its significance.