Posted 5 years ago
Golgatha
(214 items)
Here's a flea market find. Gerard René le Villain (1740-1836)'s etching from Luca Cambiaso or Luchetto da Genova (1527-1585)'s painting, illustrating a scenery from Ovid's "Metamorphoses", now in Eremitage Museum, Sct. Petersburg, Russia. As you remember, Venus was married to Mars and had the sons Cupido and Formido with him. Cupido was mysteriously born with wings on his back. But Venus fell in love with the handsome young fellow Adonis and wanted to be with him. Adonis however prefered to go bear hunting. Venus went out to search for him, accompanied by Cupido. It turned out that the bear had found him first. The painting and etching shows the moment Venus and Cupido find the dead Adonis. Did Venus and Cupido really go naked out in the wood ? Well, probably not, but I suppose the painter thought it would make a more interesting picture if they did ...