Joseph NollekensEnglish, 1737–1823Venus and Adonis
Can I see it?
Yes, on view now
Where is “Venus and Adonis” now? Victoria and Albert Museum, Sculpture, Room 22, The Dorothy and Michael Hintze Galleries, London. Yes, on view now. Checked September 25, 2026.
London, United Kingdom
RoomSculpture, Room 22, The Dorothy and Michael Hintze Galleries
Open now· until 10:00 PM
On public display.
- Checked
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
About the sculpture
This small study shows Venus trying to persuade her lover, Adonis, not to go hunting for fear that he might be killed (as indeed he was). Venus, the Roman goddess of love and fertility and mother of Cupid, fell in love with Adonis after being accidently grazed by Cupid's arrow.
It may have been executed soon after Joseph Nollekens (1737-1823) returned to England from Rome, where he spent eight years from 1762 to 1770, working with Bartolomeo Cavaceppi restoring and copying antique marbles. One of his copies, the group of Castor and Pollux, is in the Museum's collection (Museum no. A.59-1940).
Read on
He probably perfected his modelling of clay while he was in Rome and started to experiment in making small figures or groups. These occasionally became models for large-scale finished marbles, but many, still in his studio at his death, were simply studies in their own right, which he called pensieri (thoughts).
Victoria and Albert Museum
Details
- Accession number
- A.6-1944
What it shows
In the catalog
Sources
- Victoria and Albert Museum
- Image: Victoria and Albert Museum — © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
