Venus and Adonis
About the painting
Venus, the goddess of love, and her lover Adonis meet each other's eyes, their bodies still half entwined. Holding his spear, the young mortal Adonis sits upright, anxious to be off to the hunt while his dog waits patiently at his side. Venus touches his shoulder, imploring him not to go. In so doing, she reclines slightly backwards as if to pull him closer. To her left a pair of doves, Venus's attribute, symbolize love and constancy. Paintings like this one were popular with sophisticated art patrons in Paris, where Simon Vouet returned in 1627 after spending years in Rome. He absorbed the lessons of Italian Baroque painting and continued to use bright, decorative colors; Adonis wears a yellow-gold robe over a fuchsia-colored tunic and lavender sandals, and Venus is partially clad in a white undergarment and a subdued violet-blue robe. Her creamy white skin contrasts with the darker, smooth skin of Adonis, here depicted as an adolescent with rosy cheeks and a bud-like mouth.
J. Paul Getty Museum
Particulars
Meanwhile, in the life of Simon Vouet
The whole life1627–1649
Post: Premier peintre du Roi
1640
Marries Radegonde Béranger
Two years after Virginia's death Vouet married a French widow, Radegonde Béranger, with whom he had three more children.
1640
The king sets Poussin against Vouet
Louis XIII summoned Nicolas Poussin, famous in Italy, to Paris with the words “Now Vouet is caught!” and deliberately set the two painters against each other. Vouet, a friend of Poussin, probably chose not to stop his supporters' pamphlets; in the end Poussin returned to Italy and Vouet kept his primacy at court.
1641
Death of his brother Aubin Vouet
Simon's younger brother, the painter Aubin Vouet (1595–1641), died.
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