''Sleeping Venus with Cupid'' (or ''Sleeping Venus with Amor'') is an oil on canvas painting by the French artist

Nicolas Poussin Nicolas Poussin (, , ; June 1594 – 19 November 1665) was the leading painter of the classical French Baroque style, although he spent most of his working life in Rome. Most of his works were on religious and mythological subjects painted for a ...

. It was completed in 1630 and is now part of the collection of the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister in

Dresden, Germany Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label= Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth la ...

. It depicts a naked

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never fa ...

, the Roman goddess of love, sleeping under trees accompanied at her feet by her son

Cupid In classical mythology, Cupid (Latin Cupīdō , meaning "passionate desire") is the god of desire, lust, erotic love, attraction and affection. He is often portrayed as the son of the love goddess Venus (mythology), Venus and the god of war Mar ...

with his bow and arrow. A putto sits at her side clutching more arrows. The brightly painted body of Venus in the foreground is set against a darkly painted rural background, in which two men are gazing lustfully at her from behind a tree and a pair of lovers are in the middleground. The painting was executed during Poussin's time in Rome and displays

Venetian Venetian often means from or related to: * Venice, a city in Italy * Veneto, a region of Italy * Republic of Venice (697–1797), a historical nation in that area Venetian and the like may also refer to: * Venetian language, a Romance language s ...

influence. The theme of a sleeping Venus was popular with

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

artists such as Giorgione and

Carracci The Carracci were a family of Italian artists. Notable members include: * Agostino Carracci (1557–1602), Italian painter and printmaker * Annibale Carracci (1560–1609), Italian Baroque painter and brother of Agostino Carracci * Ludovico Carra ...

References

{{17C-painting-stub 1630 paintings Mythological paintings by Nicolas Poussin Paintings of Venus Nude art

See also

References