Theocr.
AMORI QVÆ PULCHRA NON SVNT,
EA PVLCHRA VIDENTVR.

[No source given]
Lusca puella placet Cupido (ceu cernis) Amori,
Ducit & hanc iuncta, quà lubet, ille manu:
Sic & amica omnis formosa videtur amanti,
Iudicio cæcus nam vacat ille furor.

Loue had neuer foul mistris.

Shee whome loue doth affect hee holdeth to bee faire,
His deer-beloued foul hee not at all esteemeth,
What in her is amisse, amisse hee neuer deemeth,
For loue doth all defects of his belou’d repaire.

Nessuna amata è brutta.

Vero amante giamai trouò l’amata
Brutta, ben che nel volto ella sia tale,
O in qualche membro sconcio, e diseguale.
Cela il difetto Amore in cosa grata.

Noyt lief was leelick.

Gheen lief noyt leelick was/ al is somtijts ghebleken
Dat aen de handt/ of d’oogh’/ of aen den neus/ of mondt/
Of yewers een ghebreck aen eenigh lit misstont/
Want Liefde van sijn lief verbetert de ghebreken.

Nulles laides amours.

Celuy à qui le cœur de feu d’Amour le brusle,
En sa Dame aueuglé ne voit rien d’imparfait:
Ains son teint saffrané luy semble estre de laict.
La faueur de l’Amour touts defauts dissimule.

207 ↓

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Facsimile Images

206, LEI:

206, LDF:

206, LIF:

207, pictura:

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Translations

[Theocritus] Een minnaar vindt zelfs wat niet mooi is, toch mooi.

[Theocritus] To a lover seems beautiful even what is not beautiful.

Een eenogig meisje bevalt een verlangende Amor, zoals je ziet, en hij leidt haar hand-in-hand waarheen hij maar wil; zo is ook elke vriendin mooi in de ogen van haar minnaar, want die blinde razernij is verstoken van elk oordeelsvermogen.

A one-eyed girl pleases a desiring Amor, do you see, and he takes her by the hand wherever he wants; in the same way each girl-friend is beautiful in the eye of her lover, for that blind frenzy is free of judgement.

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Literature

Sebastiàn, Lectura crítica, p. 44

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Sources and parallels

Parallel for the pictura (mirrored, except some background elements) and parallels for some mottoes (the Italian one, the Latin one as a part of) in: Un Amour qui meine une Borge par la main (in: Daniel de la Feuille, Devises et emblemes (1691)) [Compare]
Love blinds: Amor, formae condimentum. [4] (in: Jacob Cats, Sinne- en minnebeelden (1627)) [Compare]
Same message in the subscriptio (love blinds) in:Censura Amoris [11] (in: Ludovicus van Leuven, Amoris divini et humani antipathia (1629)) [Compare]
Same message in the subscriptie (Love blinds) and the Dutch motto as quote of Cats in:Al wat men bemint schynt schoon [14] (in: Willem den Elger, Zinne-beelden der liefde (1703)) [Compare]

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References, across this site, to this page:

Censura Amoris [11] (in: Ludovicus van Leuven, Amoris divini et humani antipathia (1629))
Amor, formae condimentum. [4] (in: Jacob Cats, Sinne- en minnebeelden (1627))
Al wat men bemint schynt schoon [14] (in: Willem den Elger, Zinne-beelden der liefde (1703))
Un Amour qui meine une Borge par la main (in: Daniel de la Feuille, Devises et emblemes (1691))

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Iconclass

A cupid is leading a one-eyed girl with a crown by the hand

landscape with tower or castle [25I5]
arm in arm (lovers) [33C231]
crown (symbol of sovereignty) [44B191]
archer's weapons: bow [45C15(BOW)]
quiver [45C23]
Beauty; 'Bellezza' (Ripa) (+ emblematical representation of concept) [51D4(+4)]
Ugliness (+ emblematical representation of concept) [51DD4(+4)]
Sense of Beauty (+ emblematical representation of concept) [56C1(+4)]
(personifications and symbolic representations of) Love; 'Amore (secondo Seneca)' (Ripa) (+ emblematical representation of concept) [56F2(+4)]
proverbs, sayings, etc. (with TEXT) [86(AMORI QUAE PULCHRA NON SUNT, EA PULCHRA VIDENTUR)]
other non-aggressive activities of Cupid [92D156]
attributes of Cupid (with NAME) [92D18(BOW)]
attributes of Cupid (with NAME) [92D18(QUIVER)]

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Comments

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Amori quæ pulchra non sunt, ea pulchra videntur [104]

Facsimile Images

Translations

Literature

Sources and parallels

References, across this site, to this page:

Iconclass

Comments

Notes