TESTA, Pietro
(b. 1611, Lucca, d. 1650, Roma)

Venus and Adonis

c. 1635
Oil on canvas, 98 x 133 cm
Akademie der bildenden Künste, Vienna

Through Cassiano dal Pozzo, secretary of Cardinal Francesco Barberini and the patron of Nicolas Poussin, Testa gained access in Rome to the circle around Poussin. Poussin's interpretation of landscape, modelled on Titian had a considerable influence on Testa's painting. He painted the Venus and Adonis in this style.