Woodcut design for the back of a playing card, Venus, Mars and Cupid
Printmaker:
Unknown
Publisher:
Unknown
Fragment of a woodcut on paper printed in brown ink of a design for the back of a playing card. There are losses along the upper and left edges. A central rectangular frame contains a group of three nude mythological figures; Mars wearing a plumed helmet is seated with the child Cupid at his knee, who holds an arrow and Venus stands to the right, her right hand resting on Mars's shoulders and her left hand at her groin. The central image is enclosed within a border of a repeated pattern of small diamond shapes. One of four impressions of the same design, with only P.14641-R(2) complete. In P.14641-R(4), the central area behind the figures has been additionally hand-coloured in black ink, indicating that possibly the whole design would originally have been coloured. The mount is inscribed in graphite at lower centre and lower right: 'Playing Cards / Italian, 16th Century / Given by / C.Fairfax Murray, Esq. / Dec.1916'. A handwritten inscription on the verso of the mount board indicates that the four designs were exhibited in the Print Room from October 1950-January 1951, which indicates that they were included in the exhibition, _Early Italian Engravings_.
Given by Charles Fairfax Murray, 1916-12
Method of acquisition: Given (1916-12) by Murray, Charles Fairfax
Height 111mm x width 70mm
Accession number: P.14641-R(1)
Primary reference Number: 225225
Stable URI
Owner or interested party:
The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department:
Paintings, Drawings and Prints
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The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024) "Woodcut design for the back of a playing card, Venus, Mars and Cupid" Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/225225 Accessed: 2024-12-30 06:35:22
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{{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/225225
|title=Woodcut design for the back of a playing card, Venus, Mars and Cupid
|author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-12-30 06:35:22|publisher=The
University of Cambridge}}
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