Venus in her Chariot from a set of Mythological Subjects after Raphael
A reclining river god and a seated nymph, located within a gentle pastoral landscape, look up at Venus. The Roman goddess of love is seated in her chariot, with her son, Cupid, on her lap, fêted by an entourage of winged putti-cherubs. The dolphin at her feet alludes to the legendary birth of her Greek counterpart, Aphrodite, who sprung from the foam of the sea.
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 representation of Venus and Cupid in the chariot is a drawing in the Louvre now associated with Primaticcio; the figure of the river god is based, in reverse, on Raphael’s design recorded in his fresco of the Council of the Gods in the Villa Farnesina, Rome.
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 representation of Venus and Cupid in the chariot is a drawing in the Louvre now associated with Primaticcio; the figure of the river god is based, in reverse, on Raphael’s design recorded in his fresco of the Council of the Gods in the Villa Farnesina, Rome.
Artwork Details
- Title: Venus in her Chariot from a set of Mythological Subjects after Raphael
- Artist: Designed after drawing previously attributed to Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio or Santi) (Italian, Urbino 1483–1520 Rome)
- Artist: Designed after a drawing now attributed to Francesco Primaticcio (Italian, Bologna 1504/5–1570 Paris)
- Designer: Possibly designed by Antoine Coypel (French, Paris 1661–1722 Paris)
- Artist: Cartoon painted by François Bonnemer (French, 1638–1689)
- Manufactory: Woven at the Manufacture Nationale des Gobelins (French, established 1662)
- Maker: Woven in the workshop directed by Jean Le Febvre the Elder (active 1662–1700)
- Date: designed 1686, woven 1689–92
- Culture: French, Paris
- Medium: Wool, silk, silver thread (23-26 warps per inch, 10-11 per cm.)
- Dimensions: 13 ft. 9 1/2 in. × 10 ft. 3 1/2 in. (420.4 × 313.7 cm)
- Classification: Textiles-Tapestries
- Credit Line: Gift of Julia A. Berwind, 1953
- Object Number: 53.225.6
- Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
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Multiple artists/makers
designed 1686, woven 1686–90
Multiple artists/makers
1687–91, with modern frame
French, possibly Paris or Lorraine
ca. 1691–94
Multiple artists/makers
ca. 1683
Multiple artists/makers
ca. 1683
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