Venus (from the Tarocchi, series A: Firmaments of the Universe, #43) (before 1467): Art, History and Details

Venus (from the Tarocchi, series A: Firmaments of the Universe, #43) (before 1467) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Master of the E-Series Tarocchi (Italian, active 1460s).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

This engraving is part of the Tarocchi group marked with the letter “A”, and named Firmaments of the Universe. This series comprises the seven planets from the classical astronomy (Moon, Mercury, Venus, Sun, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn) and the three celestial spheres that separate them from the Supreme Entity (Prima Causa) from which everything was originated. Here, Venus is personified as a nude female figure, in profile, bathing in a small river, and holding a sea shell in her right hand. Doves are flying above her. Venus’s winged son Cupid stands behind her, blindfolded and carrying his bow and arrows. On the other side of the river bank are three naked young girls, symbolizing the three Graces. Venus was believed to be the Goddess of Love, the daughter of Jupiter, and the third in the order of planets.

Object facts

• Title: Venus (from the Tarocchi, series A: Firmaments of the Universe, #43)
• Date: before 1467
• Creator attribution: Master of the E-Series Tarocchi (Italian, active 1460s)
• Culture: Italy, Ferrara, 15th century
• Type: Print
• Technique: engraving
• Collection: PR - Engraving
• Department: Prints
• Accession number: 1924.432.43

Collection credit

Dudley P. Allen Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• Lecoq, Anne-Marie, and Alain Mérot. L’Atelier de La Grâce. Paris: Le Passage, 2025.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.