In this unserious art critique, we are going to analyze the painting, Cupid Chastised by Bartolomeo Manfredi.
Here in this painting, we see some drama going on. We see a woman, Venus, and a man, Mars, apparently spanking another grown man, Cupid.
Usually, Cupid is depicted as a baby with curly hair floating in the air. He may or may not wear his diapers while shooting people with an arrow. As violent as that sounds, Cupid is the god of love or attraction so his arrows make people fall in love. In this painting, he’s almost the opposite of that imagery.
Venus had an affair with well Cupid. In the heat of the moment, perhaps Mars saw Cupid and possibly yanked his wings down. His arrows are scattered on the floor. Mars brings out his rope and beats his bare bottom. If this was a modern-day painting, this imagery would look somewhat kinky. There’s a woman with one of her breasts…
