The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 29, 2024

Venus Discovering the Dead Adonis

Venus Discovering the Dead Adonis

c. 1650
Framed: 213.5 x 268.7 x 8 cm (84 1/16 x 105 13/16 x 3 1/8 in.); Unframed: 184.4 x 238.8 cm (72 5/8 x 94 in.)
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

At left, two putti use a rope to restrain the boar that has just killed Adonis.

Description

Venus, the goddess of love, urged her mortal lover Adonis to hunt only the easiest game. Yet he insisted on pursuing boar, which eventually gored him to death. In this scene, Venus discovers the young man robbed of his youth, yet the painting eternally preserves him in a state of perfection. This paradox corresponds to wordplay in Italian poetry from the 1600s, with which many artists sought visual parallels in their work. This painting derives from a 1623 poem by Giovanni Battista Marino. The painter remains unknown, although the sophisticated literary reference, dramatic use of light, and vivid use of color demonstrate the artist’s awareness of trends converging in Naples in the mid-1600s.
  • The painting has undergone numerous restorative campaigns in the past to address structural issues, including severely cupped paint, and significant losses along the side and outside edges. A complete transfer occurred, possibly in the late 18th century, where the original open-weave canvas support was completely removed and replaced with a finer weave canvas with a glue/paste adhesive. As part of the comprehensive treatment by William Suhr in 1965, a second double lining was attached to the reverse, further stabilizing the painting. A conservation treatment was initiated in 2021 to address aesthetic issues caused by darkened retouching and discolored varnish. The 2021 treatment uncovered damaged sections of the paint layer along the left side, including the boar that was buried under old retouching. Reconstruction of the damaged boar and other damaged passages with sensitive inpainting has transformed compositional movement within the painting, improving clarity in figures, and spatial relationships within the composition. The conservation is expected to be completed by mid-2024.
  • Jean Bartoloni, Château de Versoix, Switzerland
    La Comtesse de Rouge and La Marquise de Divonne, both daughters of Bartolini (sale: Christie’s. London, April 1, 1960, no. 101, pl. LIII); [Frederick M. Mont, New York], sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art, 1965.
  • Cleveland Museum of Art, “Golden Anniversary Acquisition,” 1965, Cleveland Museum of Art Archives. archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 131 archive.org
    Stechow, Wolfgang. "Cleveland's Golden Anniversary Acquisitions." Artnews 65, no. 5 (September 1966): 30-64. Reproduced: p. 40; Mentioned: p. 43
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 131 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 151 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Catalogue of Paintings, Part 3: European Paintings of the 16th, 17th, and 18th Centuries. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1982. Mentioned: p. 507-509; Reproduced: p. 508
    Cleveland Museum of Art. The CMA Companion: A Guide to the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2014. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 188; reproduced: P. 170-171
    Kurkow, Cory. “Venus and Adonis: A masterpiece? Yes. By Ribera? Probably not.” Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine vol. 58, no. 3 (May/June 2018): 16-17. Reproduced: P. 16; Mentioned: P. 16-17.
  • Gainesville, FL: Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art, 10/97 - 4/19/98 Re-presenting the Baroque (no catalogue)
    Re-presenting the Baroque. Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art (organizer) (October 1, 1997-April 1, 1998).
    Golden Anniversary of Acquisitions. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 10-October 16, 1966).
    CMA, 1966: "Golden Anniversary Acquisitions," cat., CMA Bull., LIII (September 1966), p. 280 no. 65, repr. p. 219.
    on loan to the Musée d'Art et d'Historie, Geneva, from ca. 1950 to 1960.
  • {{cite web|title=Venus Discovering the Dead Adonis|url=false|author=|year=c. 1650|access-date=29 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1965.19