Bartolomeo Manfredi

"Mars Chastising Cupid" by Bartolomeo Manfredi (1582-1622)

Bartolomeo Manfredi (1582 – 1622) was an Italian painter, a leading member of the Caravaggisti (followers of Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio) of the early 16th century.

One of his best known paintings is Mars Chastising Cupid (also known as Cupid Chastised), an M/B spanking art scene in which Cupid, naked and blindfolded, is thrown to the floor and whipped by Mars with a length of rope on his bare bottom. A female figure (Venus?) is also present, trying to stop Mars. This work is one of the few examples of spanking in painting.

Note that Cupid was often depicted as blindfolded in Renaissance and Mannerist art, due to the contemporary belief that "Love is blind," so to speak.

External links

• Bartolomeo Manfredi gallery on the Art Renewal Center
• Mars Chastising Cupid - photo of the painting (Link dead, Feb 2008)

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