Jan Collaert
Artwork Detail
Venus fell hopelessly in love with the beautiful Adonis after she accidentally grazed herself on Cupid’s arrow. In this scene, she tries in vain to stop him going hunting while Cupid sleeps in the background, symbolising Adonis’s refusal to be constrained. In the myth he is later gored to death by a wild boar, in spite of the goddess’s attempts to save him. As his blood soaked into the earth, anemones sprouted in its place.
Titian explained the unusual pose of Venus in a letter to his patron Phillip II of Spain, saying he wanted to depict the body from both sides.
(Venus Rising, 2005)
- Title
- Venus and Adonis
- Artist/creator
- Jan Collaert
- Production date
- late 16th century-early 17th century
- Medium
- engraving
- Dimensions
- 258 x 175 mm
- Credit line
- Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, gift of Mr G M Mitford, 1883
- Accession no
- 1883/1/54/2
- Other ID
- 1883/1/54B Old Accession Number
- Copyright
- No known copyright restrictions
- Department
- International Art
- Display status
- Not on display
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Jan CollaertVenus and Adonis
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You are enquiring about:
Jan CollaertVenus and Adonis
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