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I know you all know about Venus (or at least the de Milo version) but you also know Adonis, right?
Son of a king and his daughter (it’s ancient Rome! Get over it!), he was a total looker. He had a legendary bod with a face to match. I’m telling you… this guy was a total Adonis.
Adonis was so incredibly good looking that he was too good for the goddess of love, who--if her profession is indicative of anything--was probably the prettiest of all the goddesses. But somehow the immortal beauty was still considered to be a 9 to his 10 (by him and no one else, I’m sure). Venus wouldn’t even be so smitten with this guy if she hadn’t had the unfortunate grazing of cupid’s arrow afflict her with the love bug.
Venus was obsessed and really worried about him because Adonis was a hunter and that’s totally dangerous. And she had a right to be worried, it turns out, because Adonis got killed by a wild boar, and even with her goddess speed and goddess powers, she got there too late and couldn’t save the guy. Tragic.
The scene in this painting depicts what happened right before Adonis’s final hunting trip. Venus implores him not to go, but Mr. Too-Cool-For-School can’t bother to hear a supernatural being’s warnings. And look what happened. Lesson? Always listen to your lady.
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Here is what Wikipedia says about Venus and Adonis (Rubens, 1635)
In 1635, Peter Paul Rubens created Venus and Adonis, now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. He followed the mythological story in the Metamorphoses by Ovid, inspired from his love of classical literature and earlier depictions of this scene. This oil on canvas painting shows Venus accompanied by Cupid, embracing and pulling Adonis before he goes off to hunt. The artist uses specific colors, detail and strong contrast between light and dark to depict a dramatic and emotional scene. At the time Rubens created the painting, the mythological story of Venus and Adonis was popular in Renaissance and Baroque court art. Rubens was clearly inspired by the many existing depictions of this scene, in particular the famous Titian composition of the same name, of which there are numerous versions. This depicts the same moment of Adonis leaving Venus to hunt, despite her pleas to stay. He is killed later in the day.
Check out the full Wikipedia article about Venus and Adonis (Rubens, 1635)
