Venus and Amor

Luca Cambiaso was a prolific draftsman whose works were well-circulated and copied. A printmaker who identifies himself as “F. S.”—the initials can be seen in the pooling folds of fabric—made this woodcut of Venus and Amor (or Cupid) that likely reproduces a drawing by Luca Cambiaso. The composition straddles the line between tough and elegant, with the roughness of the inked lines offset by the clarity of the composition. Venus reclines with her head bent toward the viewer. Amor, winged and outfitted with a quiver, leans forward and turns his head away, lightly touching Venus’s hair, in gentle counterbalance to her pose.