Venus and Adonis | Peter Paul Rubens | All | European Paintings | Collection Database | Works of Art

Gallery LabelVenus, assisted by Cupid, vainly tries to restrain her mortal lover Adonis from setting off for the hunt, knowing that he will be killed by a wild boar. The painting is inspired by Titian's picture of the same subject in the Prado, Madrid, which Rubens saw and copied during his stay in Madrid in 1628 and 1629 (a version of Titian's painting is in the Metropolitan Museum). The broad execution and vivid color of the present painting indicate a date in the mid- or late 1630s. Radiographs reveal that Rubens gave Adonis a somber expression, which was repainted at a later date. The picture was presented by Emperor Joseph I to the first Duke of Marlborough.

NotesThis picture was influenced by but not modeled after Titian's "Venus and Adonis" (Prado, Madrid), which Rubens copied in Madrid in 1628–29. On the whole, however, Rubens's design, in composition and mood, is more like the engraving after a design by the printmaker Crispijn de Passe I that was published by Hondius in 1600 [see Ref. Liedtke 1984, fig. 31]. It is likely that Rubens based his Adonis upon some ancient statue or relief of a figure holding a spear, or upon the Dioskouroi (Piazza del Quirinale, Rome).

Other versions of this subject by Rubens are known.

ProvenanceMaximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria, Munich (until 1706; seized by Emperor Joseph I and presented to Churchill); John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, Blenheim Palace, Woodstock, Oxfordshire (1706–d. 1722); the Dukes of Marlborough, Blenheim Palace (1722–1883; cat., 1861, p. 27); George Charles Spencer-Churchill, 8th Duke of Marlborough, Blenheim Palace (1883–d. 1892; his sale, Christie's, London, July 24 and 26, 1886, no. 75, for £7,560, bought in by Agnew for Marlborough); his widow, Lilian Warren, Dowager Duchess of Marlborough, later Lady William Leslie de la Poer Beresford (1892–d. 1909); Colonel Oliver Payne, New York (1909–d. 1917); his nephew, Harry Payne Bingham (1917–37; on loan to MMA, 1920–37)

Exhibition History

London. Royal Academy of Arts. "Winter Exhibition," January–March 1885, no. 146.

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Fiftieth Anniversary Exhibition," May 8–August 1920, not in catalogue.

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Taste of Today in Masterpieces of Painting before 1900," July 10–October 2, 1932, no catalogue.

New York. Wildenstein & Co., Inc.. "A Loan Exhibition of Rubens," February 20–March 31, 1951, no. 34.

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Art Treasures of the Metropolitan," November 7, 1952–September 7, 1953, no. 113.

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. "Masterpieces of Painting in The Metropolitan Museum of Art," September 16–November 1, 1970, unnumbered cat.

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Masterpieces of Fifty Centuries," November 15, 1970–February 15, 1971, no. 276.

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Nudes in Landscapes: Four Centuries of a Tradition," May 18–August 5, 1973, no catalogue.

References

Maximilian Carl, Graf von Löwenstein-Rochefort. Letter to Wenzeslaus, Graf Wratislaw. November 23, 1706 [published in Ref. Gräff 1922].

Maximilian Carl, Graf von Löwenstein-Rochefort. Letter to Wenzeslaus, Graf Wratislaw. November 9, 1706 [published in Ref. Gräff 1922].

The New Oxford Guide. 4th ed. Oxford, [1765?], p. 94.

[Thomas Martyn]. The English Connoisseur: Containing an Account of Whatever is Curious in Painting, Sculpture, &c. in the Palaces and Seats of the Nobility and Principal Gentry of England, Both in Town and Country. London, 1766, vol. 1, p. 21.

A Tour from Stow to Blenheim and Ditchley . . . London, [1770?], p. 9, no. 2 [see Ref. Burchard 1951].

A New Pocket Companion for Oxford. Oxford, 1810, p. 135.

The Oxford University and City Guide. 2nd ed. Oxford, [1819?], p. 168.

Horace Walpole. Anecdotes of Painting in England. London, 1828, vol. 2, p. 179.

John Smith. A Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of the Most Eminent Dutch, Flemish, and French Painters. 2, London, 1830, p. 245, no. 834.

M. Passavant. Tour of a German Artist in England. London, 1836, vol. 2, p. 7 [German ed., "Kunstreise durch England und Belgien," Frankfurt, 1833, p. 176; see Ref. Burchard 1951].

G[ustav]. F[riedrich]. Waagen. Works of Art and Artists in England. London, 1838, vol. 2, p. 236.

G[ustav]. F[riedrich]. Waagen. "Kunstwerke und Künstler in England." Kunstwerke und Künstler in England und Paris. 2, Berlin, 1838, p. 50.

André van Hasselt. Histoire de P.-P. Rubens. Brussels, 1840, p. 305, no. 811.

Alfred Michiels. Catalogue des tableaux et dessins de Rubens. Paris, 1854, p. 28, no. 708.

[Gustav Friedrich] Waagen. Treasures of Art in Great Britain. London, 1854, vol. 3, p. 131 [text similar to Ref. Waagen 1838].

William Hazlitt. Criticisms on Art: and Sketches of the Picture Galleries of England. 2nd ed. [1st ed., 1844]. London, 1856, p. lxxxi, no. 154.

George Scharf. Catalogue Raisonné; or, A List of the Pictures in Blenheim Palace. London, 1861, p. 27.

Fr[ie]dr[ich]. Goeler von Ravensburg. Rubens und die Antike. Jena, Germany, 1882, p. 211, no. 181.

Léon Gauchez. "Blenheim Palace." L'art 33 (1883), p. 214.

Walter Armstrong. "Winter Exhibitions." Art-Journal, n.s., (February 1885), p. 62.

Claude Phillips. "Correspondance d'Angleterre." Gazette des beaux-arts, 2nd ser., 31 (1885), p. 274.

"Nouvelles des ventes." Bulletin-Rubens 3 (1888), p. 95.

George Redford. Art Sales. London, 1888, vol. 2, p. 324.

Max Rooses. L'Oeuvre de P. P. Rubens. 3, Antwerp, 1890, p. 178, no. 694.

Max Rooses. Rubens. London, 1904, vol. 1, p. 192 [French ed., "Rubens, sa vie et ses oeuvres," (1900–1903), pp. 192–93].

Edward Dillon. Rubens. London, [1909], pp. 113–14.

Max Rooses. "Œuvre de Rubens: Addenda et corrigenda." Bulletin-Rubens 5 (1910), p. 306.

"Pictures Lent for the Fiftieth Anniversary Exhibition." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 15 (August 1920), pp. 190–91.

Harry B. Wehle. "A Pagan Painting by Rubens." Art in America 8 (October 1920), pp. 293–94, 297, ill. p. 295.

Walter Gräff. "Die Schenkung Josephs I. an Marlborough." Münchner Jahrbuch der bildenden Kunst 12 (1922), pp. 142, 144–45, 149.

Foreword by Ernst Buchner. Ältere Pinakothek München: Amtlicher Katalog. 18th ed. Munich, 1936, p. XIV.

"A Rubens Gift to the Metropolitan: the Newly Cleaned 'Venus and Adonis'." Art News 36 (January 22, 1938), p. 8, ill.

Jacob Burckhardt. Rubens. Vienna, 1938, p. 444, pl. 101 [English ed., "Rubens, Paintings and Drawings," 1939, by R. A. M. Stevenson, p. 296, pl. 101].

James W. Lane. "Notes from New York." Apollo 28 (November 1938), p. 253, ill. p. 255.

Harry B. Wehle. "Venus and Adonis by Rubens." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 33 (September 1938), pp. 193–96, ill.

Weltkunst 12 (October 9, 1938), ill. p. 8.

R. A. M. Stevenson. Rubens, Paintings and Drawings. New York, [1939], p. 296, pl. 101 [German ed., "Rubens," 1938, by Jacob Burckhardt, p. 444, pl. 101].

Hans Gerhard Evers. Rubens und sein Werk: Neue Forschungen. Brussels, 1943, p. 136.

Margaret Breuning. "Metropolitan Re-Installs Its Treasures in Attractive Settings." Art Digest 18 (June 1, 1944), p. 6.

A Gallery of Great Paintings. New York, 1944, ill. p. 22 (color).

Edward Alden Jewell. "Activities in the Art World: Up to Metropolitan, And Then Into Deep Water." New York Times (August 20, 1944), p. 2X, ill.

Art News Annual (1945–46), p. 73, ill. p. 72.

W[ilhelm]. R. Valentiner. "Rubens' Paintings in America." Art Quarterly 9 (Spring 1946), p. 168, no. 142, fig. 9.

Harry B. Wehle. "The Feast of Acheloüs by Rubens." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 4 (March 1946), p. 183.

Jan-Albert Goris and Julius S. Held. Rubens in America. New York, 1947, p. 38, no. 77, pls. 77, 78 (overall and detail).

"The Rubens Genius." Art News 50 (March 1951), p. 31, ill. p. 30 (color).

Paul Bird. "Rubens Presented in First New York Show." Art Digest 25 (March 1, 1951), p. 7, ill. on cover.

Ludwig Burchard. A Loan Exhibition of Rubens. Exh. cat., Wildenstein & Co., Inc. New York, 1951, p. 28, no. 34, ill. on cover (color detail).

Erik Larsen. P. P. Rubens. Antwerp, 1952, p. 220, no. 111.

Art Treasures of the Metropolitan: A Selection from the European and Asiatic Collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1952, p. 228, no. 113, colorpl. 113.

Julius S. Held. Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640). New York, 1954, pp. 7–8, pl. II [see Ref. Liedtke 1984].

Theodore Rousseau Jr. "A Guide to the Picture Galleries." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 12, part 2 (January 1954), p. 4, ill. p. 27.

A. Hyatt Mayor. "The Gifts that Made the Museum." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 16 (November 1957), p. 106.

"Figure Composition." The Artist 55 (August 1958), p. 113, ill.

Philippe de Montebello. Rubens. New York, 1968, pp. 34, 46, no. 16, ill. and color slide.

Erwin Panofsky. Problems in Titian, Mostly Iconographic. New York, 1969, p. 154 n. 41.

Sveltana [L.] Alpers. "The Decoration of the Torre de la Parada." Corpus Rubenianum Ludwig Burchard. part 9, London, 1971, p. 79.

John Rupert Martin. "The Decorations for the Pompa Introitus Ferdinandi." Corpus Rubenianum Ludwig Burchard. part 16, London, 1972, p. 211, under no. 53.

Reinhold Baumstark. "Ikonographische Studien zu Rubens Kriegs-und Friedensallegorien." Aachener Kunstblätter 45 (1974), p. 230 n. 443.

Kathleen Ann Roy and Susan Danly Walther in Rubenism. Exh. cat., Brown University. Providence, 1975, p. 24.

M[aria]. Varshavskaya. Rubens' Paintings in the Hermitage Museum. Leningrad [St. Petersburg], 1975, p. 87, under no. 8.

Ulla Krempel in "Zur Geschichte und Kunstgeschichte der Max-Emanuel-Zeit." Kurfürst Max Emanuel, Bayern und Europa um 1700. Exh. cat., Altes Schloss Schleissheim. 1, Munich, 1976, pp. 223–24, 237 n. 22.

Frans Baudouin. Pietro Pauolo Rubens. Antwerp, 1977, p. 352, colorpl. 90.

Albert Blankert. "Classicism in Dutch Painting, 1614–1670." Gods, Saints & Heroes: Dutch Painting in the Age of Rembrandt. Exh. cat., National Gallery of Art. Washington, 1980, p. 183, fig. 2.

Howard Hibbard. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1980, pp. 300, 309, fig. 538 (color).

Julius S. Held. "Rubens and Titian." Titian, His World and His Legacy. New York, 1982, pp. 316, 321, 324, fig. 7.32.

Walter A. Liedtke. "Flemish Paintings in The Metropolitan Museum—I: Rubens." Tableau 6 (November/December 1983), pp. 85–86, fig. 5 (color).

Walter A. Liedtke. Flemish Paintings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1984, vol. 1, pp. 151–55, fig. 29 (radiograph detail); vol. 2, colorpl. XI, pl. 61.

Michael Jaffé. Rubens: catalogo completo. Milan, 1989, pp. 348–49, no. 1204, ill.

Jeffrey M. Muller. Rubens: The Artist as Collector. Princeton, 1989, p. 21.

Charles Scribner III. Peter Paul Rubens. New York, 1989, pp. 35, 39, 112, 122, colorpl. 35, and ill. on dust jacket (color, overall and detail).

Jeffrey M. Muller in "The Quality of Grace in the Art of Van Dyck." Anthony van Dyck. Exh. cat., National Gallery of Art. Washington, 1990, p. 33, fig. 8.

Introduction by Walter A. Liedtke in Flemish Paintings in America: A Survey of Early Netherlandish and Flemish Paintings in the Public Collections of North America. Antwerp, 1992, pp. 25, 363, no. 419, ill.

Kristin Lohse Belkin. Rubens. London, 1998, p. 277, figs. 187–88 (color, overall and detail).

David Freedberg in "Rubens and Titian: Art and Politics." Titian and Rubens: Power, Politics, and Style. Exh. cat., Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Boston, 1998, p. 57.

Harald Marx in Dresden in the Ages of Splendor and Enlightenment. Exh. cat., Columbus Museum of Art. Columbus, 1999, p. 154, under no. 41.

Paul Oppenheimer. Rubens, A Portrait: Beauty and the Angelic. London, 1999, pp. 341, 387 n. 112, colorpl. XVI.

Bruce D. Sutherland. "A Subtle Allusion in Titian's 'Venus and Adonis' Paintings." Venezia Cinquecento 9 (January–June 1999), p. 51 n. 17, fig. 7.

Astrid Becker in Faszination Venus: Bilder einer Göttin von Cranach bis Cabanel. Exh. cat., Wallraf-Richartz-Museum. Cologne, 2000, p. 299.

León Krempel. Studien zu den datierten Gemälden des Nicolaes Maes (1634–1693). Petersberg, Germany, 2000, p. 130 n. 181.

Susan Lawson. Rubens. London, 2006, pp. 49–50, fig. 16.

Nicholas Penny. "Venice 1540–1600." The Sixteenth Century Italian Paintings. 2, London, 2008, pp. 287–88, fig. 9 (color).

Curatorial Department

European Paintings: All