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In Virgil's epic Aeneid, Venus seduces Vulcan and persuades him to forge weapons for her son Aeneas. Boucher's painting shows Vulcan offering the goddess a sword; at his feet are two putti playing with a plumed helmet, and behind him are a shield and armour.
This work was a preliminary sketch for a tapestry design - one of a set commissioned from four different artists by the marquis de Marigny, an influential arts administrator under King Louis XV.
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