Description
Venus, the goddess of love, is unsuccessful in dissuading her mortal lover Adonis from hunting the boar that would eventually kill him. The artist nestles this story in the foreground of an expansive view with Germanic architecture, rather than a classical setting. Woodlands were relatively new subjects in European painting and this work points toward the full-blown forested landscapes of the 1600s.
Provenance
Possibly Gillis van Coninxloo the Elder (inventory of January 19, 1607);; Possibly Jacques Kina (N. de Roever, "De Coninxloo's," Oud Holland, III, 1885,42);; Possibly Anna de Schot (inventory of April 21, 1663; see J. Denuce, De Antwerpsche 'Konst-kamers' Inventarissen van Kunstverzamelingen te Antwerpen in de 16 en 17 Eeuwen, II, Amsterdam, 1932,238);; Henry Doetsch, London, 1895;; (Christie's, London, June 22-25,1895, no. 282, illus.);; M. Greene, London, 1932;; Harry Quilter, London, 1961;; [F. Kleinberger, New York], sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art, 1962.
Accession Number
1962.293
Medium
oil on copper
Dimensions
Framed: 48.3 x 64.5 x 7 cm (19 x 25 3/8 x 2 3/4 in.); Unframed: 37.8 x 53.6 cm (14 7/8 x 21 1/8 in.)
Classification
Painting
Credit Line
Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund
