Peter Paul RubensFlemish, 1577–1640Venus and Adonis (Rubens, 1614)
May one see it?
Yes, receiving visitors
State Hermitage Museum
Room247Saint Petersburg, Russia
On public display.
- Checked
- 29 Aug 2026
- In this state since
- Aug 30, 2026
- Source
- The museum's own collection data
About the painting
Venus and Adonis is an oil on canvas painting by Peter Paul Rubens and his studio, executed c. 1614, now in the Hermitage Museum, in Saint Petersburg. It is a version of an autograph work from 1609 now in the Museum Kunstpalast in Düsseldorf, replacing its rocky background with Venus's attribute of a golden chariot. A third version was in the Kaiser-Friedrich-Museum in Berlin until being destroyed during World War Two.
The main figures are by Rubens himself, whilst other areas were painted by his students, with the landscape now attributed to Lucas van Uden or Jan Wildens and the dogs by Wildens. It was in private collections in Brussels such as that of Carl de Cobenzel until 1768, when a collector sold it to the Hermitage.
Particulars
- Accession number
- ГЭ-462
In the catalog
Sources
- State Hermitage Museum: the museum's own open data · fetched 29 Aug 2026
- Image: State Hermitage Museum — Museum open access
Meanwhile, in the life of Peter Paul Rubens
The whole lifeJuly 1600 – 5 May 1608 · Workplace
Mantua
1606–1608
Commission for the High Altar of the Chiesa Nuova
With the assistance of Cardinal Jacopo Serra, Rubens received his most important commission to date — the high altar of the fashionable new Roman church of Santa Maria in Vallicella (Chiesa Nuova); the first version had to be replaced by a second on three slate panels.
28 October 1608
Departure from Italy Forever
Having finished the commission for the Oratorians, Rubens left Rome without permission on 28 October 1608, hurrying to his ailing mother; despite promises to return to Mantua, he never went back to Italy.
3 October 1609
Married: Isabella Brant
8 October 1609
Marriage to Isabella Brant
The 32-year-old Rubens married the 18-year-old Isabella Brant, niece of his brother's wife and daughter of the humanist and city secretary Jan Brant; the marriage produced three children.
9 January 1610
Court Painter to the Archducal Couple
After being presented at court in August 1609, Rubens received his patent as court painter to Archduke Albert and the Infanta Isabella; at the same time he secured the right to remain working in Antwerp rather than Brussels, and to be paid a fee for each painting.
