MASTER of Flora
(active 1555-1570 in France)

The Birth of Cupid

1560s
Oil on wood, 108 x 131 cm
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

This painting appears to depict the birth of Cupid, with attendants ministering to his mother, Venus. The lively, decorative composition is typical of French artists working in the style developed by the Italians at the château de Fontainebleau, such as Rosso Fiorentino of Florence and Primaticcio and Niccolò dell Abbate of Bologna.