Venus and Mars (Veronese)

Painting by Paolo Veronese

Venus and Mars

Artist| Paolo Veronese
Year| 1570s
Medium| oil paint
Movement| mannerism
Dimensions| 205.7 cm (81.0 in) × 161 cm (63 in)
Location| Metropolitan Museum of Art
Accession No.| 10.189
Identifiers| The Met object ID: 437891
Website| Metropolitan Museum of Art

[edit on Wikidata]

Venus and Mars is an oil painting on canvas painted in the 1570s by the Italian Renaissance artist Paolo Veronese.

The painting was commissioned by Emperor Rudolph and was one of three mythological and love-themed works commissioned by the artist. The other two are at the Frick Collection in New York: The Allegory of Virtue and Performance and Allegory of the Source of Wisdom and Power.[1] It deals with the romantic love of the Roman goddess of love Venus and the god of war Mars, as described in Ovid's Metamorphoses.

## Description[edit]

The meeting of the two lovers takes place in idyllic, peaceful scenery. On the left stands the naked goddess, with her left hand embracing Mars, who sits in front of her in armor. The right hand of Venus rests on her breast from which milk flows, emphasizing her femininity. On the right side, there is a war horse of the god of war. Its silhouette is based on antique sculpture. The underlined musculature of the animal expresses his strength, and his inclined head and calm eyes soften his image. The two putti shown are the key to the interpretation of the work. The first, taming the horse, symbolizes the subduction of the love desires of the god of Mars, the control over passions.[2] The second putto, which tied the ribbon around Venus' legs, symbolizes the union of lovers into eternal love and harmony in a time without wars. Milk from the breast of Venus symbolizes the wealth of peace, which is the food for humanity.[3] The artist signed on a stone disc: "PAVLUS VERONENSIS F".

## Interpretation[edit]

Veronese repeatedly repainted his work. X-ray study described by Alan Burroughs in his book Art Criticism from a Laboratory showed that the arrangement of Venus's body was different and was probably covered with drapery pulling downwards. The innocent cherub was not in the original version.[2] It is not clear why Veronese made these changes.

## Provenance[edit]

In 1621, a catalog was made of the works in the collection of Rudolf II in Prague Castle. Over the centuries, the painting had many owners and circulated throughout Europe. It was in the possession of Ferdinand III of Habsburg, and after the Swedes' invasion of Prague in 1648, it entered the collection of Queen Christina of Sweden and was taken with her in her Roman exile. It then went to the Odescalchici family, and later to the famous Orleans Collection in Paris. In 1792, it went to the Edouard de Walckiers collection in Brussels but returned to Paris in 1798, and then went to London. After several English owners, in 1910 it was sold to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

## References[edit]

1. ^ "Paolo Veronese (Paolo Caliari) | Mars and Venus United by Love | The Met". The Metropolitan Museum of Art, i.e. The Met Museum. Retrieved 2017-06-26.
2. ^ a b Alan Burroughs, Art Criticism from a Laboratory, Little Brown, Boston 1938, pp. 93-94, za. H. Rachlin
3. ^ H. Rachlin Skandale, wandale i niezwykłe opowieści o wielkich dziełach sztuki s.55

## External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mars and Venus United by Love (Veronese).

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Paolo Veronese

Paintings|

* The Conversion of Mary Magdalene (1545–1548)
* Bevilacqua-Lazise Altarpiece (1548)
* Lament over the Dead Christ (c. 1548)
* Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine (New Haven; c. 1547–1550)
* Minerva between Geometry and Arithmetic (1550)
* Venus Disarming Cupid (c. 1550)
* Portrait of Iseppo da Porto and his son Adriano (c. 1555)
* Annunciation (c. 1556)
* Portrait of a Gentleman in a Fur (c. 1550–1560)
* Supper at Emmaus (c. 1559–1560)
* Portrait of a Young Man Wearing Lynx Fur (1560)
* Christ Among the Doctors (c. 1560)
* La Bella Nani (c. 1560)
* Saint John the Baptist Preaching (c. 1562)
* Venus and Adonis (Augsburg; 1562)
* Holy Family with Saint Catherine and Saint John the Baptist (c. 1562–1565)
* The Wedding at Cana (1563)
* Petrobelli Altarpiece (c. 1563)
* Allegory of Virtue and Vice (c. 1565)
* Allegory of Wisdom and Strength (c. 1565)
* The Feast in the House of Simon the Pharisee (Turin; c. 1565)
* The Martyrdom of Saint George (1566)
* Portrait of Daniele Barbaro (c. 1556–1567)
* The Family of Darius before Alexander (1565–1570)
* Resurrection of the Widow of Nain's Son (1565–1570)
* Madonna and Child with Saints (c. 1565–1570)
* The Allegory of Love (c. 1570)
* The Feast in the House of Simon the Pharisee (Milan; 1570)
* Venus and Mars (1570s)
* Portrait of Agostino Barbarigo (1571–1572)
* Allegory of the Battle of Lepanto (c. 1572)
* Adoration of the Magi (1573)
* The Feast in the House of Levi (1573)
* The Martyrdom of Saint Justina (c. 1570–1575)
* Bathsheba at her Bath (1575)
* Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine (Venice; c. 1575)
* Judith with the Head of Holofernes (1575–1580)
* Mars and Venus with Cupid and a Dog (c. 1580)
* Susannah and the Elders (c. 1580)
* Venus and Adonis (Madrid; 1580)
* Cephalus and Procris (c. 1580–1584)
* Saint Anthony Preaching to the Fish (c. 1580–1585)
* Lucretia (c. 1585)
* Duke of Buckingham series (1590s)
* The Finding of Moses (Dijon, Dresden, Liverpool ✻, Lyon, Madrid, Smith collection, Turin ✻, Washington)

Related|

* Benedetto Caliari (brother)
* Gabriele Caliari (son)
* Carlo Caliari (son)

✻ attributed to Veronese's studio
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