Venus weerhoudt Adonis van de jacht 1670 - 1713

Pieter Schenk rendered this engraving, Venus weerhoudt Adonis van de jacht, sometime between 1660 and 1711. Here, Adonis is being held back from the hunt by Venus, a scene brimming with symbolic tensions. Consider Venus's gesture, a motif echoed through art history. We see similar restraining embraces in depictions of Lot and his daughters, or even Mary holding Christ. These gestures carry a weight of protection, but also potential conflict and restraint. The inherent dichotomy is evident in the conflicting desires of love and destiny. Adonis, with his hunting spear, embodies youthful vigor, but Venus's grip speaks to the eternal struggle between pleasure and fate. Such iconography is a cultural echo, reminding us of the cyclical nature of human experience.