Venus and Cupid at the Forge of Vulcan 1690 - 1695

Johann Michael Rottmayr made this oil on canvas painting called Venus and Cupid at the Forge of Vulcan. Here, the goddess of love is shown visiting her husband Vulcan, god of fire, to commission weapons for her son Cupid. Venus’s semi-nude figure is given prominence, in line with the Austrian Baroque aesthetic. Rottmayr was known for his frescoes, which adorned churches and palaces. His association with religious institutions sheds light on how art, even when depicting mythological subjects, was intertwined with the Catholic Church's cultural influence at the time. This was a period marked by Counter-Reformation efforts to reassert Catholic dominance through art and architecture. To fully understand Rottmayr's work, a historian would consult records of his patronage, the diaries and letters of his contemporaries, and the archives of the religious institutions with which he was affiliated. The meaning of art always depends on its moment.