Venus and Mars
Aphrodite and Ares (Mars) - In Book Eight of the Odyssey,however, the blind singer Demodocus describes Aphrodite as the wife of Hephaestus and tells how she committed adultery with Ares during the Trojan War. The sun-god Helios saw Aphrodite and Ares having sex in Hephaestus's bed and warned Hephaestus, who fashioned a net of gold. The next time Ares and Aphrodite had sex together, the net trapped them both.Hephaestus brought all the gods into the bedchamber to laugh at the captured adulterers,but Apollo, Hermes, and Poseidon had sympathy for Ares and Poseidon agreed to pay Hephaestus for Ares's release. Humiliated, Aphrodite returned to Cyprus, where she was attended by the Charites.
Venus and Mars Stamp Collection
Manama 1971 Venus and Mars by Paolo Veronese 1570
Fujaira 1972 Venus and Mars by Paolo Veronese 1570
Paraguay 1966 Venus and Mars by Paolo Veronese 1570
Venus and Mars by Paolo Veronese The act of meeting the two lovers takes place in idyllic, peaceful scenery. On the left stands a naked goddess, with her left hand embracing the arrival of Mars, sitting in front of her in armor. The right hand of Venus rests on the breast from which the milk flows out, emphasizing its femininity. On the right side there is a war horse of god of war, tamed by one of the lovers. Its silhouette is based on antique horse monuments. The underlined musculature of the animal expresses his strength, and his inclined head and calm eyes soften his image. The two putti shown are the key to the interpretation of the work. The first taming horse symbolizes the subduction of the love desires of the god of Mars, the control over passions. The second putto, which tied the ribbon around Venus' legs, symbolizes the union of lovers into eternal love and harmony in a time without wars. Milk from the breast of Venus symbolizes the wealth of peace, which is the food for humanity. The artist signed on a stone disc: "PAVLUS VERONENSIS F"
Italy 2004 Venus and Mars by Paolo Veronese 1570 (detail)
The whole painting
Paraguay 1976 Venus and Mars with Cupid and Horse by Paolo Veronese from the cycle of works that belonged to Rudolf II
The whole painting
Fujaira 1972 Venus and Mars with Cupid and Horse by Paolo Veronese
Manama 1971 Venus and Mars with Cupid and Horse by Paolo Veronese
Paraguay 1986 Consequences of War by Rubens
The whole painting
Manama 1971 Consequences of War by Rubens
Consequences of War by Rubens
Mars: Mars is the central figure in the composition. The Roman god of war charges with shield and sword as well as breastplate and helmet. The figure's skin and cape are dominated by the color red to further emphasize his identity as the Roman god.
Book and Drawing: Underneath Mars's feet lie a book and a drawing. These represent the manner in which the arts and letters are forgotten and destroyed in the chaos and violence of war.
Temple of Janus: To the far left of the painting, the Temple of Janus appears with its door ajar. In Ancient Rome, the Temple of Janus would be closed to indicate times of peace while an open door denoted war. This phenomenon is referenced in Fasti by Ovid.
Venus: The Roman goddess of love (and Mars's mistress) endeavors to restrain Mars and maintain peace. Her arm is looped ineffectually around his in a physical gesture. Her expression, meanwhile, plaintively entreaties Mars to stop his charge. Venus is depicted in typical Rubensian fashion with characteristic rolls of exposed flesh (See Arrival of Marie de' Medici or The Judgment of Paris for comparison.) The goddess is accompanied by Amors and Cupids who attempt to assist her.
Fury Alekto: Alekto drags Mars on to his destructive purpose with a torch held high. Alekto was the Greek and Roman incarnation of anger. She appears in both Virgil’s Aeneid and Dante’s Inferno. Alekto translates from the Greek to “the implacable or unceasing anger.”
Pestilence and Famine: These effects of war are depicted as monsters accompanying Fury Alekto in order to heighten the terror of the scene. In addition, they deliberately refer to the apocalypse.
Harmony: Rubens depicts Harmony as a woman holding a lute. However the chaos has pushed her to the ground and broken her lute. The damage to the lute represents the discord of war.
Mother: Beside Harmony a mother clutches a child. This, Rubens writes, shows how “War corrupts and disrupts and destroys everything” including “procreation and charity.”
Architect: An architect and his instruments have similarly fallen to the ground, showing how in times of war destruction and not creation is the norm.
Arrows: Arrows lie on the ground near Venus and the Amors. When bound together they represent Concord but in their present state show its absence. Next to them lie the olive branch and caduceus, the symbols of peace. They too are depicted cast upon the ground to signify their absence in Europe.
Woman in black: The figure to Venus's left represents Europe and its suffering. Her cross-topped globe represents the Christian world and is carried by the small angel to her immediate left.
Equatorial Guinea 1973 Consequences of War by Rubens
Paraguay 1985 Consequences of War by Rubens
Guinea Bissau 1985 Venus and Mars by Botticelli (detail)
The whole painting
Burkino Faso 1985 Venus and Mars by Botticelli (detail)
Venus and Mars by Botticelli
Venus watches Mars sleep while two infant satyrs play,carrying his helmet (a sallet) and lance as another rests inside his breastplate under his arm. A fourth blows a small conch shell in his ear in an effort, so far unsuccessful, to wake him. The clear implication is that the couple have been making love, and the male habit of falling asleep after sex was a regular subject for ribald jokes in the context of weddings in Renaissance Italy. The lance and conch can be read as sexual symbols.
The scene is set in a grove of myrtle, traditionally associated with Venus and marriage, or possibly laurel, associated with Lorenzo de' Medici (il Magnifico), or perhaps both plants. There is a limited view of the meadow beyond, leading to a distant walled city.
Paraguay 1971 Venus and Mars by Piero di Cosimo
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Venus and Mars by Piero di Cosimo
Venus, Mars and Cupid is a c.1490 oil on panel painting by Piero di Cosimo. It is currently held in the Gemäldegalerie
art museum in Berlin, Germany. It probably originated as part of a decorated cassone.
Its neo-Platonic subject echoes that of Sandro Botticelli's Venus and Mars (1482-1483; National Gallery, London). The god of war Mars sleeps in a post-coital slumber, conquered by the nude Venus, making both works an allegory of Love triumphing over War. Venus plays with her son Cupid, with her symbolic doves in front of Mars. In the background a group of putti in the foreground play with Mars' weapons and armour between bushes of myrtle, Venus' plant, where she had taken refuge after her birth off Cyprus.
Ajman 1971 Venus and Mars by Piero di Cosimo
Moldova 2019 Venus and Mars by Jean-Baptiste van Loo natinal museum of Moldova
Paraguay 1970 Venus and Mars Surprised by Vulcan by Jacopo Tintoretto 1551-1552
The whole painting
Ajman 1972 Venus and Mars Surprised by Vulcan by
Jacopo Tintoretto 1551-1552
Venus and Mars Surprised by Vulcan by Jacopo Tintoretto
The painting depicts a scene of extra-marital sex. The goddess Venus is lying nude on a couch whilst her lover Mars is hiding helmeted under a bed. Venus' husband Vulcan, tipped off by Apollo, has just returned unexpectedly. Luckily for the adulterous couple he has become distracted by his wife's naked body, disregarding the warnings of his dog. Cupid is sleeping in a cot by the window.
The event was a popular subject during the Renaissance, emphasising the real dangers of adultery, but in this work Tintoretto has introduced an element of comedy. Maybe Venus can distract Vulcan long enough to allow Mars to make a silent getaway.
Paraguay 1973 Venus and Mars by Giovanni Battista Pittoni
(1687-1767)
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Paraguay 1976 Venus and Mars
Paraguay 1989 Venus, Mars and Cupid by Rubens 1636
Burundi 1973 Venus and Mars for The 500th Anniversary of the Birth of Copernicus