|
Set in a curiously weightless landscape, an irregular row of trees enters the picture at an angle, affording us glimpses of meadows, stretches of water and buildings, with beyond a distant hill and a plane that vanishes into the depths. We see a number of couples, some reclining, some out walking, and a child and a small dog, both at the centre of the picture if not immediately visible. Opposite the soft, hazy trees that dominate the left half of the picture, the right-hand side is commanded by a statue of Venus, who has confiscated a quiver full of arrows from her son, Cupid.
A happy moment has been caught here by the painter's art, like a snapshot that captures a fleeting moment from the past — a gaze over a shoulder, a spontaneous gesture — and lends it permanence. Yet it would be absurd to assume that this scene was based on a real occurrence: the picture is a poetic invention by a painter, is itself the experience, and not a depiction.
|
