VENUS ADORNED BY THE GRACES

(1594-1595; Washington, National Gallery)

Painted byAnnibale Carracci, this work betrays his interest inVenetianart asVenusis the nude reclining type favored by Venetian masters such asGiorgioneandTitian. She is as voluptuous as her Venetian counterparts, around her the usual props, including the curtain behind her, the luscious landscape, and the pudgy putti. The scene derives from Homer'sOdysseywhenMarsand Venus are caught by Vulcan, her consort, in an act of infidelity. Venus retires to Cythera, her sacred island, where she is bathed and adorned by the Graces while she awaits Vulcan's return from collecting the adulterer's fee from Mars, the scene shown in the background. The painting is thought to have been commissioned on the occasion of a wedding celebration as denoted by certain elements within the work. Venus is the goddess of love, Mars and Vulcan are symbols of passion and generative heat, andBacchus, shown as a statue on a fountain in the background, is a symbol of fertility. The details of the commission are unknown, though by 1638, the painting was in the possession of theBologneseCount Alessandro Tanari.