Cupid with Weapons of Mars

Cupid with Weapons of Mars

Adamo (Ghisi) Scultori

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The union between Venus, goddess of love, and Mars, god of war, was often understood as emblematic of love's power to calm the aggressive spirit. In 'De rerum natura' (On the Nature of Things, 1.29–40) of 55 B.C., Lucretius called on Venus to seduce Mars and bring peace to the Romans. Scultori's image suggests that she has done so. While his parents are occupied, Cupid carries off the heavy shield and sword of Mars, ensuring love's victory over war.

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

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The Department’s vast collection of works on paper comprises approximately 21,000 drawings, 1.2 million prints, and 12,000 illustrated books created in Europe and the Americas from about 1400 to the present day. Since its foundation in 1916, the Department has been committed to collecting a wide range of works on paper, which includes both pieces that are incredibly rare and lauded for their aesthetic appeal, as well as material that is more popular, functional, and ephemeral. The broad scope of the department’s collecting encourages questions of connoisseurship as well as those pertaining to function and context, and demonstrates the vital role that prints, drawings, and illustrated books have played throughout history.