Cupid, the god of love, balances on the back of an angry lion. A fantasy lagoon landscape denotes a Venetian setting. The power of true love over all other passions is celebrated here.

Titian painted this about 1545 for Gabriel Vendramin (1484-1552). He had a famous collection in Venice including medals, antiquities, drawings and paintings.

The painting has been cut down from a rectangular shape. It was originally the cover for a portrait of a noblewoman by Titian in Vendramin’s collection. Emblematic covers protected paintings from scrutiny. Like the reverse of medals, they provided playful or learned images that related to the paintings beneath.

Provenance: Accepted by HM Government in lieu of Inheritance Tax and allocated to the Ashmolean Museum, and purchased with the assistance of the Art Fund (with a contribution from the Wolfson Foundation), Daniel Katz Ltd, the Friends of the Ashmolean, the Tradescant Group, the Elias Ashmole Group, Mr Michael Barclay, the Highfield family, the late Mrs Yvonne Carey, the late Mrs Felicity Rhodes, (Virtue-Tebbs, Madan and Russell Funds) and other private donations, 2008.

Object description
Type: Easel painting
Location: Ashmolean Museum, Oxford
Material: Oil on canvas
Artist: Titian (c. 1488 or 1490 – 1576)
Date: circa 1543 – 1546

Image Details
Date: 27 March 2025
Camera body: iPhone Xs
Lens: Wide Camera 26mm ƒ/1.8
Focal Length: 26mm
Aperture: ƒ/1.8
Shutter Speed: 1/25s
ISO: 400
Licensing: Image of an Ashmolean Museum asset. This image cannot be licensed.