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Nicolas Poussin

Venus and Adonis

Description

Maker

Nicolas Poussin (French, 1594-1665)

Title

Venus and Adonis

Year

ca. 1628

Medium

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

Materials

oil paint

Supports

Geography

Place Made: France

Dimensions

76.2 x 101 cm (30 x 39 3/4 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Signature: Unsigned

Label: Thomas Agnew London

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Walter H. Kimball Fund, Georgianna Sayles Aldrich Fund, Mary B. Jackson Fund, Edgar J. Lownes Fund and Jesse Metcalf Fund

Object Number

54.186

Type

Provenance

. . . Collection, Comte de Waldegrave ; his sale, London, 19 November 1763, n°25 ; Sir Joshua Reynolds, 1766 ; Lord Carrington, 1842 ; by descent to 6th Lord Carrington ; Carrington sale, London, Christie ‘s, 4 May 1951, n°85 ; acquired at this sale by Agnew’s; acquired by Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design in 1954.

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

European Galleries
Sep 02, 2017

Label copy

French history painters relied on the literature, philosophy, and art of the ancient world as dominant resources. In this story, Venus has been pierced by Cupid’s arrow and fallen in love with the beautiful young hunter Adonis. They lie in each other’s arms, unaware that the clouds that shade them also portend danger. At left, a band of mischievous cherubs restrains a rabbit that will ultimately be killed by Adonis’s ferocious dog. Despite Venus’s warnings, Adonis also will die soon, the victim of an attack by a wild boar.

Intermission
Dec 16, 2016 – Jul 02, 2017
The Natural World, the Body, and the Divine
Feb 03, 2006 – Apr 16, 2006

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This object is in the Public Domain and available under a CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication

Tombstone

Nicolas Poussin (French, 1594-1665)
Venus and Adonis, ca. 1628
Oil on canvas
76.2 x 101 cm (30 x 39 3/4 inches)
Walter H. Kimball Fund, Georgianna Sayles Aldrich Fund, Mary B. Jackson Fund, Edgar J. Lownes Fund and Jesse Metcalf Fund 54.186

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