Venus and Two Cupids

Venus stands in a painted stone niche, stepping forward out of it, with two Cupids carrying bows at her knees. In her raised right hand is a scallop shell, a reminder that she was born from the sea foam, and she seems to catch her own reflection in it. The painter built the body from greys that warm into pearl and pink, which gives the nude the smooth, rounded look of a statue. How the panel reached the Borghese family is uncertain. The art historian Paola Della Pergola suggested it came from the estate of Cardinal Antonio Maria Salviati, who died in 1602. A guide to the Villa Borghese published in 1650 listed it as a work of Andrea del Sarto, and before Brescianino's name settled on it in the 20th century it had also been given to Beccafumi, Franciabigio and Puligo.