LIONE, Andrea di
(b. 1610, Napoli, d. 1685, Napoli)

Venus and Adonis

1630s
Oil on canvas, 116 x 153 cm
Private collection

The subject is drawn from the passage in Ovid's Metamorphoses (X.506-538) illustrating the love of Venus and Adonis, and specifically the dramatic moment when Venus seeks to dissuade Adonis from leaving for the hunt, thereby avoiding a fatal outcome. The artist treated this mythological subject in an entirely classical vein, with references to Poussin.

There is another signed version of the subject by Lione (Rome, private collection).




© Web Gallery of Art, created by Emil Krén and Daniel Marx.