Venus Bewailing the Death of Adonis
Artist/Maker
Material / Technique
Dimensionsh x w: Mått 136 x 195,6 cm h x w x d: Ram 172 x 227 x 16 cm
Inventory numberNM 406
Other titlesTitle (sv): Venus begråtande Adonis död Title (en): Venus Bewailing the Death of Adonis
DescriptionCatalogue raisonné: Description in Flemish paintings C. 1600-C. 1800 III, Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, 2010, cat.no. 27: Technical notes: The painting’s original support consists of two strips of a densely woven, mediumweight, plain weave, single-threaded fabric, sewn together vertically with a seam at centre right (the left piece measures c. 103.4 cm in width and the right piece c. 92.1 cm). The original fabric support has been lined and the tacking edges cropped on all sides, with the fabric mounted on a non-original stretcher at the tacking edges of the lining fabric. Faint cusping is visible along the top and bottom edges only, suggesting that the painting was once somewhat taller. The thick preparatory layers, which completely hide the texture of the fabric support, consist of a smooth, light buff-coloured ground, followed by an opaque, medium grey imprimatura. Generally, paint was applied thinly in opaque layers, except for the strong impastos used to help model the flesh tones, especially of Venus and Cupid. The same thin colour is applied in the whites of Adonis’ loincloth and Venus’ blouse, in the sparkling highlights in her tear-filled eyes, on the jewelled strap across her left shoulder, on the hunting horn and spear in the left and right foreground and in the yellowish skies towards the horizon on the left. The cool grey imprimatura is allowed to show through in the more thinly painted areas of the faces and bodies, where it helps to define the shading of the flesh tones, especially noticeable in Adonis’ ashen face and body. Venus’ robe was executed in an opaque warm red paint, over a semi-transparent brownish underpaint, with the admixture of lead white in the lighter areas and a translucent dark red lake glaze in the depths of the folds. The figure of Adonis was painted before that of Venus, his limp left arm, literally, bisecting her left arm and leg, which were executed in two parts. All the figures were painted before the landscape setting, which frequently overlaps their contours. The painting is in good condition. The paint, which has been flattened during the lining process, is heavily abraded and thin in many areas. A long repaired zigzag left thigh). Coarse, partly discoloured retouching covers extensive losses of the ground and paint layers along the edges, especially the upper left edge (in the sky), at the upper and lower left corners and scattered through both figures and landscape. There is damage from impact at the upper right. A series of retouched short horizontal cracks in the ground and paint layers may have resulted from rolling of the fabric support. The painting underwent conservation treatment in 1926 and 2010. Provenance: Coll. Bodissoni 1757; purchased by Gustav III (as Crown Prince) 1758; Gustav III 1761, no. 5; Gustav III 1792, no. 33; KM 1795, no. 52; KM 1816, no. 697. Exhibited: Stockholm 2010, no. 48. Bibliography: Von Breda 1791, p. 168 (as Anthony van Dyck); Sander II, pp. 79, 104, no. 33 (as Anthony van Dyck); NM Cat. 1867, p. 28; Göthe 1887, p. 78 (as workshop of or manner of Anthony van Dyck); Göthe 1893, pp. 95–96 (as workshop of Anthony van Dyck); Granberg 1931, p. 18, no. 33; Badouin 1984, pp. 130–134; NM Cat. 1958, p. 68; Laskin and Pentazzi 1987, p. 306; Larsen 1988, II, p. 425, no. A40; NM Cat. 1990, p. 125; Heinrich 2003, no. A5d, p. 151–157 (as a workshop replica). The myth of Venus and Adonis is recounted by Ovid in the Metamorphoses, (X, 708–739). The goddess of love, who was passionately in love with the handsome young hunter Adonis, was afraid that he would meet with an accident. One day while out hunting Adonis was slain by a wild boar. When Venus learnt of this she rushed to the spot but arrived too late. This is the tragic moment depicted in the Nationalmuseum’s painting. Venus is supporting Adonis’ dead body, which is lying on the ground. Leaning on one arm, she directs an agonized glance at the heavens. On the left her son, Amor, is visible, scarcely able to hold back his tears. On the left can also be seen Adonis’ bow and hunting horn and the dead dog. Adonis’ right arm rests on a leopard skin. The theme, which resembl The theme, which resembles a pietà, fits in well with the Baroque appetite for what was both dramatic and full of emotion. This portrayal comes very close to Van Dyck’s work and in 1761 the painting was attributed to the studio of Van Dyck when it formed part of Gustav III’s collection. The original of this composition is, however, one of the earliest signed works by Thomas Willeboirts Bosschaert. This painting, belonging to the Stiftung Preussischer Schlösser und Gärten, Berlin, is today exhibited at the Schloss Oranien burg.1 Badouin assumed that the original version derived from the cultural inheritance of the Oranges and that it was originally commissioned by the Stadtholder Friedrich Hendrik from Willeboirts Bosschaert in 1642. While the work as a whole is stamped with the style of Van Dyck, Adonis’ body is reminiscent of Rubens’ Descent from the Cross.2 The Berlin painting was believed by Badouin and others to have served as a model for a painting in the National Gallery Ottawa and a number of other replicas.3 Baudouin published an oil sketch in the collection of Guy Flokner, Brussels, as the original modello for the Berlin painting.4 After a thorough comparison of the Berlin and Ottawa paintings, J. Douglas Stewart finds the Ottawa version to be the better one with numerous pentimenti.5 Larsen (1988) considered the Nationalmuseum painting to be a copy of the versions mentioned above in Berlin and Ottawa. However, according to Heinrich 2003, it should be regarded as a workshop variant of the signed composition in Oranienburg. It differs from this painting in a few details such as the hunting dog at the lower left but corresponds exactly with the small modello in Brussels.6 Two fragments of a preparatory sketch showing the body of Adonis and the upper part of Venus are in a private collection in Paris.7 Whether Willeboirts Bosschaert originally derived his composition from Van Dyck is unknown. Several lost compositions of this subject ascribed to Van Dyck are known from literary sources. According to Bellori, Van Dyck painted a Venus and Adonis for Charles I. Heinrich mentions that Bosschaert’s composition could have been inspired by a picture by Maarten de Vos in the Musée de Château in Blois.8 A picture with the same motif in Göteborg Museum of Art (135 x 195) is a copy of the Nationalmuseum painting from the early 19th century, earlier attributed to the Swedish painter Carl Fredric von Breda.9 GCB 1 138.3 x 199 cm, no. GK I 5172 (Badouin 1984b), earlier exhibited at the Schloss Grünewald. 2 See Judson 2000, nos. 43–45. 3 One in the Szépmüvészeti Múzeum, Budapest (159 x 208.5 cm), two versions known from photos in the Rijksbureau vor Kunsthistorische Documentatie, The Hague (119 x 183 cm) and (neg, no. 33108, 234 x 206 cm). 4 Oil on canvas, 32.5 x 48 cm. Today in a priv. Coll., Brussels. See Badouin 1984, p. 132, fig. 1 and Vlieghe in Cat. Exp. Cologne-Vienna 1992–1993, no. 51.1. 5 Stewart 2001. For the Ottawa painting see also Laskin and Pentazzi 1987. 6 See Heinrich 2003, no. A5b, fig. 12. 7 Heinrich 2003, no. A5a, fig. 11. 8 Heinrich 2001, pp. 262–263. 9 Göteborg Museum of Art, as unknown painter early 19th century, 135 x195 cm, GKM 5. See Heinrich 2003 no. A5Ke . [End]
Motif categoryReligion/Mythology
Collection
TechniquePainting
Object category
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