Lamenting the Death of Adonis, mid-16th century
After Luca Cambiaso (Italian, 1527–1585)
Woodcut
Artist Biography
After Luca Cambiaso (Italian, 1527–1585)
Woodcut
sheet 10 x 11 5/8 in. (25.4 x 29.5 cm)
Gift of Henry Walters, 1917 (17.37.33)
Cambiaso illustrated the tale of Venus and Adonis in many paintings and drawings. A number of his designs also appear in woodcuts, which may have been created under his supervision. Here, Venus, in the company of the Graces, mourns her dead love, while amorini attack and trap the boar responsible for his death. Cambiaso's literary source was an anonymous Greek poem in which the boar, called to account by the goddess, claims that he only wanted to kiss the fair, white thigh of Adonis.
Related
Index Terms
Artist
Material and Technique
Subject Matter/Theme
- Death
- Figure, Deity
- Figure, Deity, Greek and Roman
- Figure, Deity, Greek and Roman, Adonis
- Figure, Deity, Greek and Roman, Aphrodite/Venus
- Literature and Literary Connections
- Literature and Literary Connections, Greek Poetry
- Love
