Venus and Adonis from a set of Mythological Subjects after Raphael

Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio or Santi)

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Her chariot just visible to the right, Venus, Roman goddess of love, is seated, attended by her winged putti-cherubs and a sun-weathered satyr. The older, winged youth brandishing a torch is perhaps meant to be Hymen, god of marriage. Venus turns to devote her attention to handsome mortal Adonis, apparently just returned from hunting, still bearing his spear, with a putto restraining his (beautifully observed) hunting hounds. This tapestry is from a set of eight, traditionally called Les Sujets de la Fable d’après Raphaël, made for the French king, Louis XIV. The designs for all eight tapestries were inspired in part upon drawings then in Louis XIV's collection- now preserved in the Louvre- which were all, at that time, attributed to Raphael. The design source of the figure group is a drawing in the Louvre, depicting an allegory of sensual passion, now attributed to Giulio Romano.

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The fifty thousand objects in the Museum's comprehensive and historically important collection of European sculpture and decorative arts reflect the development of a number of art forms in Western European countries from the early fifteenth through the early twentieth century. The holdings include sculpture in many sizes and media, woodwork and furniture, ceramics and glass, metalwork and jewelry, horological and mathematical instruments, and tapestries and textiles. Ceramics made in Asia for export to European markets and sculpture and decorative arts produced in Latin America during this period are also included among these works.

Metropolitan Museum of Art