Venus with a Mirror
About the painting
Venus with a Mirror (c. 1555) is a painting by Titian, now in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, and it is considered to be one of the collection's highlights.
The pose of the Venus resembles the classical statues of the Venus de' Medici in Florence or the Capitoline Venus in Rome, which Titian may have seen when he wrote that was "learning from the marvelous ancient stones." The painting is said to celebrate the ideal beauty of the female form, or to be a critique of vanity, or perhaps both. It was copied by several later artists, including Peter Paul Rubens and Anthony van Dyck.
Titian made a number of paintings of the same subject, but this is believed to be the earliest and the only version to be entirely by the hand of Titian, without additions by his assistants. It remained in his house until his death in 1576.
Particulars
- Accession number
- 1937.1.34
![Forma Partis Templi Divi Petri [Exterior Section of Saint Peter's Basilica], Italian 16th Century, after Michelangelo, published by Vincenzo Luchino, 1564](https://api.nga.gov/iiif/7634e5ff-adcb-4539-8d57-1e0e1680bf45/full/!2400,2400/0/default.jpg)
![Orthographia Partis Exterioris Templi Divi Petri [Exterior View of Saint Peter's Basilica], Étienne Dupérac, after Michelangelo, 1544/1572](https://api.nga.gov/iiif/a229f016-0d27-409a-9874-3b8c5b240755/full/!2400,2400/0/default.jpg)