Media Information

 
 
 
Collection:
ADJUNCT MODULE B: ITALIAN ART
Preferred Title:
Cupids by the Thrones of Mars and Venus
Image View:
Detail, a cupid holding the shield of Mars, his helmet on his throne
Creator:
unknown (Roman (ancient) painter)
Location:
repository: Museo Archeologico Nazionale (Naples, Campania, Italy)
Location Note:
1380 Sherbrooke Street West (exhibition location)
GPS:
45.4987-73.5801
Date:
ca. 62-79 CE (creation)
Cultural Context:
Roman (ancient)
Style Period:
Imperial (Roman)
Work Type 1:
fresco (painting)
Classification:
Paintings
Material:
pigment on plaster
Technique:
fresco painting (technique)
Subjects:
deities; mythology (Classical); Herculaneum (Extinct city); Venus (Roman deity); cupids; putti; amoretti
Description:
Part of the 2015 "Pompeii" exhibit which featured over 220 archaeological artifacts, most from the Naples National Archaeological Museum. The exhibit was designed to immerse viewers in settings of every day life in Pompeii, complete with state-of-the-art visual effects and soundscapes. This fresco from Herculaneum shows winged Cupids playing beside two empty thrones. The dove of Venus, goddess of love and fertility, standing on one throne, and the armour of Mars, god of War, resting on the other, symbolize the missing deities. In myth, Mars and Venus had a clandestine affair. (Source: Montreal Museum of Fine Arts; http://www.mmfa.qc.c a/)
Collection:
Adjunct Module B: Italian Art
Identifier:
7A3-R-PEX-CTMV-A04
Rights:
© Scott Gilchrist, Archivision, Inc.

Cupids by the Thrones of Mars and Venus