Venus Catching Love or Venus Flogging Love
Medium
Etching and engraving
Dimensions
Sheet (trimmed): 12 15/16 × 9 13/16 in. (32.8 × 25 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1953
Accession Number
53.600.2403
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the opulent world of 18-century French art, *Venus Catching Love or Flogging Love* (. 1741) captures a playful yet poignant mythological moment. Designed by sculptor Edme Bouchardon andfully etched and engraved by François Joullain, Etienneessard, and the Comte de Caylus, this print exemplifies the collaborative spirit of the Rococo era. Bouchardon, renowned for his elegant sculptures blending classical antiquity with graceful modernity, likely drew inspiration from ancient myths, depicting Venus in a dynamic encounter with Cupid—perhaps playfully "catching" or gently "flogging" the mischie...
About the Artist
Edme Bouchardon|François Joullain|Etienne Fessard|Anne Claude Philippe de Tubières, comte de Caylus · 1698–1762
Born 29 May 1698; died 27 July 1762. Bouchardon was a student of Guillaume Coustou, and won the prix de Rome in 1722. He spent ten years (1722-1732) in Rome, Italy working on various projects for Pope Clement XII. In 1732 Bouchardon was recalled to Paris and named sculptor to the king. Bouchardon became a professor at the Académie Royale in 1746. He worked on an equestrian monument of Louis XV, Ki...