


The paintings, inspired by 17th century poet Giovanbattista Marino’s Adonis, depict the Stories of Mars and Venus in two pairs of matching works and take on a dramatic tone in the two pictures completing the set. This one shows the goddess weeping over her lover Adonis, slain by a boar egged on by the god. All the episodes are classicising in feel, imbued with a sense of measure and balance, the central, almost sculptural group standing out against a background dominated by the nuanced greens of the landscape and the pinks of the sunset.

AUTHOR Andrea Appiani
DATE 1790 - 5
OBJECT TYPE AND MATERIAL Oil on canvas
DIMENSIONS cm 81 x 112
INVENTORY 7384
ROOM XXXVII
Work on display