Cupid Untying the Zone of Venus
by REYNOLDS, Sir Joshua, Oil on canvas, 128 x 101 cm
Reynolds reproduced his earlier work A Nymph and Cupid (Tate Gallery, London) in this commission for Lord Carysfort. The title change is evidence that both paintings are variations on a mythological theme. (Zone is an old-fashioned word for girdle.) The model for the nymph-like Venus was likely the celebrated Emma hart, who was later the wife of Sir William Hamilton (the British ambassador to Naples) and mistress of Admiral Lord Nelson.
Suggested listening (streaming mp3, 4 minutes):
Francesco Gasparini: The Meddlesome Cupid, aria