Sculptuur van Venus met een dolfijn 1646 - 1670

Hubert Quellinus created this drawing of Venus with a dolphin sometime in the 17th century. It is a simple drawing, but its depiction of Venus, the Roman goddess of love and beauty, taps into a rich vein of cultural and institutional history. During the Dutch Golden Age, art was heavily influenced by classical antiquity. The rediscovery of classical sculpture during the Renaissance shaped artistic ideals in the Netherlands. Artists were very interested in classical themes and the use of mythology to convey social and moral values. The way the female nude is presented here also relates to the gendered expectations of Dutch society. To truly understand an image like this, one needs access to archives, libraries, and databases to learn more about the artistic and social environment in which it was made. Studying the tastes and patronage of the time will help us better understand the cultural role of art in the Dutch Golden Age.