Vulcan Capturing Mars and Venus c. 1553 - 1555

"Vulcan Capturing Mars and Venus" is a bronze relief by Italian Renaissance sculptor Guglielmo della Porta, created around 1553-1555. The octagonal relief depicts the Roman god Vulcan catching the adulterous Mars and Venus in a net. The dramatic scene unfolds in a landscape with a figure of Vulcan hammering on an anvil in the foreground and Mars and Venus entangled in the net in the center. This work exemplifies della Porta's skill in depicting the human form and the dynamism of movement.