Venus and Adonis

Ferdinand Bol (1616-1680), oil on canvas, c. 1658

Bol here painted a scene from Ovid’s Metamorphoses. The goddess of love, Venus, and young Amor, try to deter Adonis from going on a boar hunt. Venus fears for his life. Bol – a pupil of Rembrandt – displays a smooth and bright manner of painting very different from his master’s darker, coarser style. Bol used it to conjure an idealized image of reality.

  • Artwork typepainting
  • Object numberSK-A-4823
  • Dimensionsheight 168 cm x width 230 cm, depth 6 cm