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A Pair of Lovers

Image credit: The National Gallery, London

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Notes

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A young couple sit on the grass in a shady glade. The woman’s hair is unbound, and her dress disturbed. In one hand she holds reed pipes, with the other she either restrains her lover or encourages him to move the crimson cloak over her lap. A naked, winged cupid crowns them with a wreath. A wooden water cask lies next to the man’s thigh and a recorder rests above it.

The painting’s subject is uncertain. The musical instruments and setting suggest this may be a pastoral scene of a shepherd and his lover, but the woman’s clothes are neither plain nor rural. Her chemise is of the finest linen and her dress is made of elaborately patterned silk. Her cloak is of expensive crimson silk velvet.

Perhaps the picture represents a scene from classical mythology or contains a hidden meaning about love, or it may just be an erotic image of a nymph (nature goddess) and her lover.

The National Gallery, London

London

Title

A Pair of Lovers

Date

1555-60

Medium

Oil on canvas

Measurements

H 139.1 x W 122 cm

Accession number

NG637

Acquisition method

Bought, 1860

Work type

Painting

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Normally on display at

The National Gallery, London

Trafalgar Square, London, Greater London WC2N 5DN England

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