Venus and Cupid

Pieter Isaacsz. was a Danish painter, art dealer and diplomat who, according to Karel van Mander, began his artistic career with Cornelis Ketel in Amsterdam. Isaacsz. then travelled to Italy and met Hans von Aachen, with whom he journeyed to Venice, Florence and Rome, as well as to Germany. When von Aachen left for the court of Rudolf II in Prague, Isaacsz. returned to the Netherlands. He eventually settled in Copenhagen, where he entered the employ of the Danish king, Christian IV, serving as court painter from 1614. Isaacsz. was a versatile artist though he is today remembered principally as a portraitist. In this titillating little copper, the influence of von Aachen is evident, as is that of sixteenth-century Venetian painting, as Venus admires her own reflection in a hand-held mirror and Cupid, with his bow and arrow, stands just beyond reach.

When this painting was offered for sale in 2004, the attribution to Isaacz. was endorsed by Dr Wouter Kloek on the basis of photographs.