The Allegory of "Venus, Cupid, Folly, and Time"

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses Agnolo Bronzino's allegorical painting that is best known as "Venus, Cupid, Folly, and Time." The writer describes the painting and its composition in detail, and explains some of the techniques employed by the painter to create rhythm and unity. Some of the imagery is explained, and the writer points out the possibility that the figures commonly thought to be Venus and Cupid could also refer to Adam and Eve, since Venus carries an apple and the half-human creature behind her has a serpent's tail. The paper concludes with the writer's personal impressions of the painting.

From the Paper:

"The focal point of the painting is the milky white woman embracing the man with wings. The artist made them larger in scale and un-obscured by the other subjects in the painting. Bronzino used very distinct lines outlining the subjects depicted. Very few geometrical shapes are used in this painting with the exceptions being the circular fruit held by the woman in the foreground, the circular brown object held by the creature, the triangular tip of the arrow held by the woman and the round jewelry worn by the creature on its right shoulder. There are four completely straight lines in the entire piece with the columns of the hourglass taking three of those and the arrow being the fourth."

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