Venus and Adonis 1582

Paolo Veronese painted Venus and Adonis sometime in the late 16th century, working in oil on canvas. The lushness of this painting, its appeal to the senses, is heightened by Veronese’s masterful use of his medium. You can almost feel the weight of the figures, the silkiness of Venus’s skin, the thickness of the dogs’ fur. Oil paint was, by this time, a relatively new technology, enabling artists to build up layers of color and texture with unprecedented control. Consider the ultramarine in the drapery beneath Venus. It would have been made using lapis lazuli, mined in Afghanistan and exported at great expense. This, along with the labour required for the large-scale canvas and the artist’s skill, speaks to the wealth and privilege that enabled Veronese to create such a work. So, while the painting depicts a mythological scene, it also serves as a potent reminder of the economic forces at play in Renaissance Venice, as the city began to see the rise of artisans and workshops, transforming the landscape of art production forever.