Venus Surrounded by Cupids

Art Historical Context

Created in 1788, *Venus Surrounded by Cupids* reflects the enduring fascination with classical mythology during the late eighteenth century. The composition brings together the talents of designer Giovanni Battista Cipriani, engraver Francesco Bartolozzi, and publisher Emmanuel Matthias Diemar. Their collaboration produced a delicate scene of the goddess of love encircled by playful cherubs, capturing the graceful, lighthearted spirit favored by collectors of the period. The print’s medium—etching combined with stipple engraving and printed in color—represents an important technical achievement. Stipple engraving allowed artists to achieve soft, tonal effects that closely mimicked paintings, while the addition of color printing made each impression more vibrant and painterly. As the third state of three, this impression shows the final refinements Bartolozzi made to the plate. Housed today in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Department of Drawings and Prints, the work exemplifies how reproductive prints helped spread neoclassical taste across Europe and into private homes. Its modest size invites close viewing, rewarding the eye with intricate detail and harmonious color.

About the Artist

Francesco Bartolozzi|Giovanni Battista Cipriani|Emmanuel Matthias Diemar · 1727–1815

Francesco Bartolozzi (1727–1815) was an Italian engraver whose most productive period was spent in London, where he became the leading exponent of stipple engraving and a founding member of the Royal Academy. Born in Florence and trained first as a painter before turning to engraving in Venice, he established his reputation in Rome before being recruited by the English Royal Librarian Richard Dalt...