Teating?

Venus, Cupid, Folly and Time (detail) by Bronzino 

 Thoughts about this Bronzino allegorical opus came to me today, Valentine's day.  I focused my attention on the central figures. Indeed a whirlwind of a canvas --Venus holding Cupid's wayward arrow with the naughty youngster himself in a rather awkward kiss to the goddess as his hand explores her mammary territories which perhaps Freud surely celebrated later as Oedipian. Some will argue it's just the mark of a "teating" child. Or have you ever heard of the Tagalog term "nangungutong"? (utong= teats)

At the back lurks a hideous figure said to be representing "jealousy". Again, I thought of the right Tagalog word for it. "Selos" is rather Hispanic in concept and of course in origin. But the right Tagalog term could be "panibugho", which is darker, more sinister. Some in the medical fields years ago pointed it out rather scrupulously that the ravaged figure resembles that of someone suffering from an advanced stage of syphilis. Oh indeed, the obstinate elements of love or what we think is love. That century of exploration, the "Verkehr" of many things in humanity. The exchanges of fluids in a truly global dimension.

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