Agostino dei Musi (Italian, c. 1490-after 1536)
printed by Antonio Salamanca (Italian, 1478-1562)
The Altar of Love
INV-8016
Agostino dei Musi (Italian, c. 1490-after 1536)
printed by Antonio Salamanca (Italian, 1478-1562)1510/36
The Altar of Love
Agostino dei Musi (Italian, c. 1490-after 1536) printed by Antonio Salamanca (Italian, 1478-1562) →engravingprint
Date
1510/36
Medium
Engraving in black on ivory laid paper
Dimensions
Image: 29.3 × 22.1 cm (11 9/16 × 8 3/4 in.); Plate/sheet: 29.7 × 22.1 cm (11 3/4 × 8 3/4 in.)
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Location
Chicago, IL
Credit
The Wallace L. DeWolf and Joseph Brooks Fair Collections
In this engraving, Cupid adorns the altar of love. Because war is the opponent of love, he is shown dominating a battle relief. The artist skillfully evoked a sense of color in the architecture by varying his engraved line. The swirls in the floor tiles represent the design of colored marble, whereas the columns are left white. The classicizing elements of architecture and mythological subjects attest to the revival of antiquity in the Renaissance.