Venus with the signs of Libra and Taurus
XVI century. Oil on canvas. Not on displayThe planet Venus, accompanied by a torch-bearing child, represents the morning star. Behind them, a fragment of the Zodiac presents the signs of Libra and Taurus. At the top, a winged figure rests his extended arms on the ring.
This painting and its companions (P306 to P312) are copies of cartoons for the mosaics at the Chigi Chapel in the Roman church of Santa Maria del Popolo. Those cartoons were made by Raphael and the mosaics, by Alvise della Pace in 1516.
The paintings are from the royal collections and were brought to Spain by Rubens in 1603 as gifts from the Duke of Mantua to the Duke of Lerma. They were part of the decoration of Philip IV´s Salón Planetario (Planetary Hall) at the Buen Retiro Palace.
