Venus and Adonis

The Italian artist Leonardo Germo painted this fan. He based his image of Venus and Adonis on a painting by Francesco Albani in the Villa Borghese in Rome. Germo’s miniaturist painting technique, with its highly modelled and detailed finish, is characteristic of the finest Italian fan painting of the period. The subject of Venus and Adonis was a popular one and reflects the growing interest in classical themes in the 18th century. The American artist Benjamin West once owned this particular fan. He studied in Italy before settling in London, where he became President of the Royal Academy in 1792.