Venus Chastising Cupid

Early 17th century · Oil painting · 31.7 × 24.7 cm

Can I see it?

Not on view at present

Where is “Venus Chastising Cupid” now? Collection: Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Not on view at present. Checked September 25, 2026.

Victoria and Albert Museum

London, United Kingdom

It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.

Checked: 15 days ago
In this state since: Sep 25, 2026
Source: The museum

On the map Museum page

About the painting

Agostino Carracci (1557-1602) was born in Bologna and was an apprentice to Prospero Fontana (1512-1597). He subsequently trained under the engraver and architect Domenico Tibaldi (1541-1583) and under the sculptor Alessandro Menganti (1531-c. 1594). He may also have been a pupil of Bartolomeo Passarotti (1529-1592). He ran an important workshop in Bologna together with his cousin Lodovico (1555-1619) and his brother Annibale (1560-1609), with whom he founded about 1585 the Accademia degli Incamminati. Agostino produced mainly history paintings and engravings. He went to Rome with his brother in 1594 for the decoration of the Palazzo Farnese. He left in autumn 1599 and went to Parma where he died in 1602.

Read on

This painting is an early copy after an engraving by Agostino Carracci, executed ca. 1590. It shows Venus in the middle of the composition chastising Cupid, who is blindfold and carried on the back of a putto while another on the left is weeping with a hand in his back, a gesture that suggests he also had been chastised. The scene is set in a mountainous landscape with a tall tree on the right. Agostino Carracci was a prolific and successful engraver whose compositions were much appreciated as witnessed by this early copy.

Victoria and Albert Museum