The mythical story of Venus and Adonis was popularised by the Roman poet Ovid’s Metamorphoses, featuring in Book 10 of the epic poem and later made famous by Shakespeare in his long poem. Ovid’s tale narrates how the goddess of love Venus seduced the beautiful Adonis as her first mortal lover. They lived as long-time companions, with the goddess hunting alongside her lover. According to the myth, one day she warns Adonis of the tale of Atalanta and Hippomenes, wishing to dissuade him from hunting dangerous animals, but he disregards the warning and is subsequently killed by a boar.
Rubens’ 1635 treatment of the story, now held in New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art as a gift from Harry Payne Bingham, demonstrates the artist’s career-long fascination with the grand Venetian colourist Titian. Rubens admired his Italian predecessor’s technique of shimmering pigments, comprising small patches of intense colour and broken brush strokes, suggesting a lifelike mosaic. Titian’s own interpretation of the Venus and Adonis story represents the scene of the lovers’ emotional parting, as Venus strives to deter her young lover from the tragic hunt. Rubens originally made a copy of Titian’s 1554 painting, now lost, though his admiration for the original image is faithfully preserved in the following plate, which he painted several years after making the copy.
In the composition, Venus glances pleadingly into Adonis’ eyes, as her flowing blond hair adds to the dramatic tension of the scene. The muscle-clad and darker hued Adonis, dressed in a garish red tunic, is presented like an impressive Greek sculpture, turning his back to the viewer. As Adonis looks down, extending his right arm in a gesture of comfort to his lover, his other arm firmly grips his spear ready for the hunt. Amusingly, Venus’ son, the little Cupid, seizes his leg in a vain attempt to thwart his departure.