The Worcester Art Museum has acquired Paolo Veronese’s Venus Disarming Cupid (circa 1560), one of the last works by the Renaissance master still in private hands. The work was gifted to the museum by the New York-based collector Hester Diamond and will go on view on September 20, 2013 alongside works by Rembrandt, Jacob van Ruisdael and El Greco as part of the exhibition (remastered).
Hester acquired Venus Disarming Cupid at Christie’s in 1990 when its owner consigned it to the auction house as Circle of Francois Boucher. Shortly before the sale, the painting was attributed to Veronese and enthusiastically endorsed by the art historian and Veronese expert Terisio Pignatti. The revered painting has an impressive provenance, once residing in the collection of the German Prince of Hohenzollern-Hechinger and appearing on view at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2006.
Matthias Waschek, the Worcester Art Museum’s director, said, “It is rare that a museum can announce the acquisition of a single Italian Renaissance work, let alone one as spectacular as this Veronese. Venus Disarming Cupid is a game changer for our collection.”
