The Feast of Venus

During his long stay in Italy (1600–1609) Rubens copied several paintings by Titian, including his Feast of Venus (Madrid, Museo del Prado) of ca. 1519, a work commissioned by Alfonso d’Este. The source of Titian’s painting was Flavius Philostratus the Younger’s Eikones, in which the ancient writer described 64 pictures of an imaginary (?) Neapolitan gallery, including the Gods of Love by an anonymous painter. Twenty years after his study of the Italian model, Rubens began a painting on the same subject but expanded the repertoire of figures in his dynamic composition. Venus, the goddess of love, is the centre of attention. The posture of her arms is in keeping with the classical type of the Venus Pudica, which is characterised by its ambivalence: bashful concealment can also become its opposite – the effect on the viewer remains open. Elevated to monumental status, Venus is surrounded by numerous cupids, dancing and caressing each other and creating an appropriate setting for the feast in the tree-tops above her. Four women devote themselves to the marble cult figure: Venus is being washed, the smell of incense fills the summery air, and, finally, a precious mirror is raised to the goddess. The group around Bacchus, the god of wine, on the left in the foreground as well as the procession of Satyrs and Maenads on the right at the back are embellishments by Rubens. In addition, the Flemish painter documented for educated contemporary viewers his knowledge of the latest results of archaeological research: the model for the round temple depicted on the left in the back and the find of a classical three-legged pot – which Rubens uses for the incense sacrifice – became known only a short time before the painting was created. © Cäcilia Bischoff, Masterpieces of the Picture Gallery. A Brief Guide to the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna 2010