Talk:Venus, Cupid, Folly and Time

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Cf. "What's Bred in the Bone" by Robertson Davies for discussion of the allegory of the painting - referred to in the novel as "The Allegory of Love".

[edit] Iris Murdoch

Also features in one of her novels, but I forget which Johnbod 14:14, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Masks

By Venus's foot in the lower-right corner, there are two masks, male and female. Does anybody know what these are meant to represent? Lurlock 16:26, 7 November 2007 (UTC)

It's a good question; it's been such a long time since I studied this painting that I can't remember, but will have a look if I can. Maurice Brock has a theory (which I must admit I quite like, in general) that the mask is a recurring theme in Bronzino's work and represents both the import and the superficiality of appearance. In other words, he argues that during Bronzino's era people were more and more taken with the idea that life is but a theater—a series of presentations and postures that we put on for one another. The real meaning (or nature) lies hidden behind our masks, and might be discovered only through careful study. [At least I think that's what he argues; it's been a while since I read that too!] Isocephaly (talk) 20:27, 28 April 2008 (UTC)