Venus, Cupid and Ceres

Venus, Cupid and Ceres — Cornelis van Haarlem. 1604.

Medium: Oil on canvas. Dimensions: 96.7 × 109.2 cm (38 × 43 in.).

Collection record: Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago. Museum connection according to this source; current display unverified.

A newly discovered work by Cornelis Cornelisz. van Haarlem, this colorful painting interprets the ancient witticism, “Without food and drink, love grows cold.” Venus, Roman goddess of love, is joined by Cupid and Ceres, goddess of grain; Bacchus, god of wine, is present symbolically through the grapes. The supple, translucent flesh demonstrates the interest in naturalism that blossomed in Northern Europe in the late 16th and early 17th centuries, which led artists to work increasingly “from life,” that is, from observation of models.

Description: © Art Institute of Chicago, original record, CC BY 4.0. HTML formatting removed; wording retained. Other artwork metadata: CC0.

Source: official collection record. Metadata selected and normalized by Artline from the source export, accessed 10 September 2026; no museum endorsement. Reproduction rights are separate.