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Venus and Adonis

probably mid-1630s
Not on view
Rubens took the subject of this painting from the Roman poet Ovid’s Metamorphoses. Accidently pricked by one of Cupid’s arrows, Venus fell in love with the handsome hunter Adonis. With cavalier indifference to the goddess’s adoration and her warnings of danger, Adonis hunted a wild boar and was gored to death. Rubens shows their leave-taking—a popular subject also famously depicted by Titian in another picture now at The Met. By adapting subjects explored by earlier artists, Rubens asserted his own status as their worthy successor.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Venus and Adonis
  • Artist: Peter Paul Rubens (Flemish, Siegen 1577–1640 Antwerp)
  • Date: probably mid-1630s
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions: With added strips, 77 3/4 x 95 5/8 in. (197.5 x 242.9 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Gift of Harry Payne Bingham, 1937
  • Object Number: 37.162
  • Curatorial Department: European Paintings

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Multiple artists/makers
1751
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