Venus and Adonis. Veronese

This painting depicts a story by the ancient Roman poet Ovid.

The story was about a love that ends suddenly and tragically.

Venus was the Roman goddess of love and beauty.

Adonis was a handsome young man who fell in love with Venus and the goddess Proserpina.

Venus and Proserpina shared Adonis during the year.

Adonis liked to hunt, and the goddess Venus accompanied him.

Adonis died on one of these hunts.

In the painting, the Renaissance painter Veronese shows the moment before Adonis dies.

In the painting, Adonis sleeps lying on Venus.

She is surprised because one of the dogs starts barking.

The dog smells that a wild boar is nearby.

The boy is Cupid.

Cupid is the Roman god of love.

Cupid holds the dog to calm him and prevent Adonis from waking up.

According to the legend told by Ovid, the barking dog woke Adonis.

Adonis went to hunt the boar.

Adonis wounded the boar, but the boar attacked and killed the man.

Veronese paints Venus and Adonis in a pose similar to that of the Pietà.

In the Pietà, the Virgin Mary holds the dead Jesus Christ.

Veronese imitates the Pietà in this painting to show that there will be a tragedy.

Venus senses that Adonis may die in the hunt.

Veronese used unusual colours for his time, such as orange in the clothes of Adonis and purple in the clothes of Venus.

Veronese used bold and contrasting colours in his paintings.

This style was common among Venetian painters of the 16 century.

Veronese painted this picture when he lived in Rome.

He also created another painting dedicated to another mythological legend of love that ended in tragedy.

The other painting was entitled Cephalus and Procris.

Velázquez bought the 2 paintings during his second travel to Italy.

Later, the paintings became the property of the kings.