Venus and Adonis from a set of Mythological Subjects after Raphael

Manufacture Nationale des Gobelins|Pierre de Sève the Younger|Jean Jans the Younger|Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio or Santi)|Giulio Romano|Antoine Coypel

designed 1686, woven 1686–90 · Wool, silk, silver thread (21-24 warps per inch, 8 per cm.) · European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Her chariot just visible to the right, Venus, Roman goddess of love, is seated, attended by her winged putti-cherubs and a sun-weathered satyr. The older, winged youth brandishing a torch is perhaps meant to be Hymen, god of marriage. Venus turns to devote her attention to handsome mortal Adonis, apparently just returned from hunting, still bearing his spear, with a putto restraining his (beautifully observed) hunting hounds. This tapestry is from a set of eight, traditionally called Les Sujets de la Fable d’après Raphaël, made for the French king, Louis XIV. The designs for all eight tapestries were inspired in part upon drawings then in Louis XIV's collection- now preserved in the Louvre- which were all, at that time, attributed to Raphael. The design source of the figure group is a drawing in the Louvre, depicting an allegory of sensual passion, now attributed to Giulio Romano.

Artist

Manufacture Nationale des Gobelins|Pierre de Sève the Younger|Jean Jans the Younger|Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio or Santi)|Giulio Romano|Antoine Coypel

Date

designed 1686, woven 1686–90

Medium

Wool, silk, silver thread (21-24 warps per inch, 8 per cm.)

Culture

French, Paris

Department

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Credit line

Gift of Julia A. Berwind, 1953