1606
Oil on copper, 34 x 45 cm
Akademie der bildenden Künste, Vienna
This painting is probably one of the first examples of Rubens's activity in Italy. His early training is still evident in the exaggeratedly graceful pose of Venus, who holds the mantle that she has just taken off on her arm. Such passages are close to the late Mannerist style of Hans von Aachen and Johann Rottenhammer.
