The Hand in Art: Bronzino's Allegory of Venus and Cupid

Abstract

Hand deformities, congenital or acquired, appear in many Renaissance paintings. One such work is the painting now entitled 'An Allegory of Venus and Cupid', by Agnolo di Cosimo Toni (1503-1572), better known as Bronzino. Bronzino was one of the major painters of the late Renaissance period. An exponent of Mannerism, a style of art that featured exaggerated colors, figures in unusual postures, and the use of sometimes bizarre images, Bronzino became the official court painter of Grand Duke Cosimo I de' Medici, the ruler of Tuscany from 1537 until his death in 1574.