Venus, Psyche and Cupid

Varotari's Venus, Psyche and Cupid (c.1650) is a mythological work in the Venetian tradition, exploring the narrative of Psyche's relationship to Venus and Cupid from Apuleius's Golden Ass. This subject offered painters the opportunity to depict ideally beautiful female nudes in a mythological setting sanctioned by classical authority. Varotari's late Titianesque manner made him well suited for subjects requiring the warm, luminous skin tones and lush colour that the Venetian tradition had perfected. The painting reflects the continued vitality of the Venetian mythological tradition well into the Baroque period.

Three female figures or two females and Cupid are arranged in a landscape or interior setting, the interplay of their bodies creating compositional rhythm. Varotari's warm Venetian palette — amber, rose, gold — models the flesh with rich glazes. The handling is smooth and deliberate, self-consciously evoking Titian's late manner.