Inspired to Follow: Art and the Bible Story - Sin

Here's the reflection from today's 'Inspired to Follow: Art and the Bible Story' session based on the National Gallery's 'Sin' exhibition:

‘Inspired to Follow: Art and the Bible Story’
Session 3: Sin

Text: Song of Songs 7
Image: Bronzino. An Allegory with Venus and Cupid. About 1545. © The National Gallery, London

Reflection:

There’s a lot of sex in scripture, as there is, too, in the ‘Sin’ exhibition. In many people’s minds sin and sex have become irretrievably intertwined. 1 Corinthians 6.8 tells us to flee from sexual immorality and for many in our culture, that might sum up their understanding of Christianity’s view of sex; one that is sexually repressive in the extreme. Yet, the Bible includes reference to a wide range of consensual and non-consensual sexual activity. The Bible often reflects the norms of the patriarchal society in which its stories and laws were first made while, at other points, challenges patriarchy and advocates mutuality and equality within relationships.

Song of Songs, also known as The Song of Solomon, encapsulates some of this ambiguity being an erotic love song which has often been neutered by being viewed as an allegory of God’s love for his people. The reference to Solomon is unlikely to relate to its creation, although the wedding of Solomon is described. It reminds us, however, of some of the ways in which Bible stories link sex and sin. Solomon was born from the adulterous relationship between King David and Bathsheba which resulted in David commanding the murder of Bathsheba’s husband. Solomon was known both for his wisdom and for his 700 wives and 300 concubines. The Book of Kings claims that these relationships led Solomon into idolatry. Song of Songs is set at the beginning of a relationship and expresses open sexual longing and desire in the context of a first coming together. Yet we also find references to concubines and violence meaning that this poem is not entirely free of patriarchy and power.

A similar combination of ambiguity about sex and sensuality is apparent in Bronzino’s Allegory with Venus and Cupid. Bronzino was the leading painter of mid-16th-century Florence and is classed as a Mannerist. The refined and stylish artificiality associated with Mannerism can be best appreciated in this 'Allegory' but his frescoes and other religious paintings are also stylish, carefully designed works. An example is his 'Madonna and Child' in the National Gallery’s Collection, where the pose of the Virgin and Child chastely mirrors the sensuality of Venus and Cupid in the Allegory. As a result, the Allegory has been called the ‘anti-Virgin and Child’.

The Allegory is one of Bronzino’s most complex and enigmatic paintings. Its intended meaning is not entirely certain. It is likely to be the painting mentioned in Vasari’s ‘Life of Bronzino’ of 1568: ‘He made a picture of singular beauty, which was sent to King Francis in France; in which was a nude Venus with Cupid kissing her, and on one side Pleasure and Play with other Loves; and on the other, Fraud, Jealousy, and other passions of love.’ The erotic yet erudite subject matter of the painting was well suited to the tastes of King Francis I of France, who was notoriously lecherous. It was probably sent to him as a gift from Cosimo I de‘ Medici, ruler of Florence, who employed Bronzino as a court painter.

The picture contains a tangle of moral messages, presented in a sexually explicit image. Venus, goddess of love, steals an arrow from her son Cupid’s quiver as she kisses him on the lips. Venus holds the golden apple which Paris presented to her as the most beautiful of all goddesses. Cupid squats with his bare buttocks provocatively thrust out and fondles Venus’ breast, squeezing her nipple as he returns her kiss, while attempting to steal her crown. The masks at Venus’ feet suggest that she and Cupid exploit lust to mask deception. The smiling little boy with the anklet of bells is foolish Pleasure, who is about to shower the pair with rose petals. He doesn’t seem to notice the thorn piercing his right foot – Pleasure is frequently followed by Pain. Fraud or Deceit, the pretty girl behind Pleasure, offers Cupid a honeycomb. However, her concealed serpent’s body suggests that her offer of sweetness literally has a sting in its tail. In the background is winged Father Time, identified by his hourglass. He holds a blue cloth with which he attempts either to conceal or reveal this series of deceits. He glares towards another figure in the background whose head appears to have no back or contents and who may represent Oblivion, also holding the cloth. Time may be attempting to stop Oblivion from concealing Venus and Cupid’s actions.

The figure clutching their head behind Cupid has been variously identified as Suffering, Jealously and Syphilis, displaying some of the symptoms of the disease. However, such an overt reference to syphilis would have been inappropriate in a painting for the French king – the illness was known at the time as ‘the French disease’ because it was believed to have been brought to Italy by French troops. The painting’s message may have been about Beauty curbing Passion to protect us from Jealousy, Fraud and Folly, and enabling Time to combat the Oblivion that Passion entails. Equally it may be about the painful consequences of unchaste love, presided over by pleasure and deceit. Unravelling the painting’s meaning would have been part of its appeal – a pleasure to both the eye and the intellect – a duality frequently referred to in Bronzino’s poetry.

Bronzino’s image is complicated in the same way that the inclusion of Songs of Songs in scripture is complicated. Neither depict sex as simply or wholly sinful and yet they recognise that desire can lead to deceit or violence as easily as to union and love. Exploring and unravelling are part of the pleasure of paintings and passages that while seeming to reveal all actually leave much that is still to be teased out if we are genuinely to understand our human desires one for the other.

The next Inspired to Follow course is an Advent Course which takes us through Advent in terms of the candles on ‘The Advent Wreath,’ exploring the Patriarchs, the Prophets, John the Baptist, and Mary. Register at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/inspired-to-follow-advent-course-tickets-126549205079.

Inspired to Follow: Art and the Bible Story helps people explore the Christian faith, using paintings and Biblical story as the starting points. The course uses fine art paintings in the National Gallery’s collection as a spring board for exploring questions of faith.

• Sunday 29 November: The Patriarchs - Genesis 12:1-10.‘The Departure of Abraham’; Workshop or imitator of Jacopo Bassano, about 1570-90, NG2148.
• Sunday 6 December: The Prophets - Isaiah 53:1-12. ‘The Forerunners of Christ with Saints and Martyrs’ probably by Fra Angelico, around 1423-4, NG663.3.
• Sunday 13 December: John the Baptist - Mark 6:14-29. ‘Salome receives the Head of John the Baptist’ Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, about 1609-10, NG6389.
• Sunday 20 December: Mary - Matthew 2:1-15. ‘The Flight into Egypt’ Workshop of Goossen van der Weyden, about 1516, NG1084. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ryan Malone - Song Of Songs.