Renaissance (Baroque Era)

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Venus and Adonis by Peter Paul Rubens 1635

Elements

Rubens used a mixture of dark and light to emphasize the scene he wanted to depict.  The main scene here is Venus trying to get Adonis to stay and not go out hunting while Cupid is holding onto his leg.  The partial nudity of Venus was put in there so as to depict the drama happening in the scene.  There is a factor of longing of the heart brought on by this painting with Venus wanting to hold onto Adonis and not letting him leave.  This is Ruben's take on this mythological scene that was also painted by another artist (Tiitian) depiction of the scene almost 100 years prior. 


The Thirty-year War

The above version was one of multiple renditions of the same seen from Rubens.  When he was commissioned to paint the first one Rubes it was just after the Thirty Year War and was happy to be able to do something that didn't have diplomatic ties.  









Words Cited

“Venus and Adonis (Rubens, 1635).” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 10 July 2023, en.wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venus_and_Adonis_(Rubens,_1635)

Hoakley. “Rubens’ Peace and War: 2 the Cost of War.” The Eclectic Light Company, 13 May 2017, eclecticlight.co/2017/05/14/rubens-peace-and-war-2-the-cost-of-war/

Comments

  1. AnonymousMarch 4, 2024 at 1:16 PM

    This is very interesting how you described the artist's usage of light and dark colors! I would've loved to read about how this painting correlates more with the Thirty-Year War. Nudity combined with the meaning of Venus's longing really emphasizes the theme of this painting.

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  2. Carlos J. CastanedaMarch 4, 2024 at 10:21 PM

    Venus and Adonis is one of the lighter Baroque style paintings that I have seen. As Venus is trying to entice Adonis to stay, I believe she is naked not so much for drama but to try to get him to stay as she sees tragedy coming towards Adonis as he tries to leave to hunt. The painting itself has no direct correlation with the Thirty Years war, as one of the other comments had asked. As you mentioned the painting is based on a classical myth. You can really see the love, desire and fate that Venus really has and wants for Adonis.

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  3. Fin LudwigMarch 5, 2024 at 12:33 AM

    I think it is really interesting and makes the piece more engaging that Cupid is on the side of Venus trying to keep Adonis. This makes the narrative to be more like it is love vs war and not simply a beckoning to stay. What challenges this idea that Venus and cupid are beckoning for love is the intense setting behind them. Where Adonis is beckoning to go looks nice in the distance, where as the trees behind Venus look dominating and scary, almost as though it would be a mistake to stay. This relationship makes the painting even more interesting and I really enjoy analyzing it!

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