The Altar of Love

Description

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.

The Altar of Love

Agostino dei Musi

1510/36

Accession Number

80163

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.)

Classification

engraving

Museum

The Art Institute of Chicago

Chicago, United States

Credit Line

The Wallace L. DeWolf and Joseph Brooks Fair Collections