Artist: John Cheere (1709-1787)
Size: 160 x 187 cm
Museum: National Palace of Queluz (Queluz, Portugal)
Technique: Sculpture
A lead sculpture, representing Venus and Adonis, flanked by a dog and a cupid with a dove. The myth of Adonis is linked to the goddesses Aphrodite (Venus) and Persephone (Proserpina), who were rivals for the love and attention of the young man. Born from the incestuous relationship between Cinyras, the king of Cyprus, and his daughter Myrrha, he became famous for being a young man of exceptional beauty and a highly skilled hunter. The dispute between the two goddesses only ended with the intervention of Zeus (Jupiter), who decided that the young man would spend a third of the year with Aphrodite, a third of the year with Persephone and the other third with whomever he wanted. Adonis chose to spend two thirds of the year with Aphrodite. This myth gave birth to the idea of the cycle of the seed, which dies and is resuscitated each year. The presence in this sculptural group of a cupid and a dove, traditionally associated with Aphrodite, evokes the love affair between the two characters.
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