Venus and Cupid Discovering the Body of Adonis c. 1740

Giovanni Battista Tiepolo rendered "Venus and Cupid Discovering the Body of Adonis" in a wash, a technique that was popular among Venetian artists for its ability to create dramatic light effects. The narrative is drawn from Ovid’s Metamorphoses. Venus, goddess of love, discovers the lifeless body of Adonis, her mortal lover, after a hunting accident. Cupid, son of Venus, is seen accompanying his mother. Tiepolo captures a moment of emotional intensity, of love and loss, through the figures’ poses and expressions. Venus’s anguish reflects the societal expectation that women, even goddesses, are defined by their relationships with men. Tiepolo lived during the late Baroque and Rococo periods. His art often reflects the grand scale and emotional intensity typical of the Baroque, combined with the lighter, more decorative aspects of the Rococo. Tiepolo navigates the cultural expectations of his time, while subtly imbuing his work with an emotional depth that speaks to our own experiences of love and mortality.