| Artist | Titian |
|---|---|
| Year | c. 1553 |
| Type | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 186 cm × 207 cm (73 in × 81 in) |
| Location | Museo del Prado, Madrid |
Venus and Adonis is a painting by the Italian late Renaissance artist Titian, executed in Venice around 1553. While the painting, which is now in Madrid's Museo del Prado, is one of a number of versions of the same subject by Titian, it stands out as a particularly important commission, being intended for King Philip II of Spain. It was part of a series of mythological paintings called "poesie" ("poems").
Venus and Adonis was designed to be viewed alongside Danaë, a painting from the same series with a related composition, and both works are currently in the same room.
The painting's subject is taken from Ovid, though with modifications (Adonis leaves Venus, and not vice versa). It portrays a young Adonis, at dawn, with his dogs, leaving Venus, who desperately tries to keep him with her. The scene symbolizes the force of the hunt call, in turn a metaphor of life and of worldly affairs, which is stronger than that of love (embodied by Eros, sleeping under trees on the left). In contrast to the later version in Rome, the background features a shining sun emerging from the clouds in an only partially overcast sky.