Artwork
Landscape with Venus and Adonis
Landscape with Venus and Adonis is an oil painting by the Mannerist artist Gillis van Coninxloo. It dates from 1590 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
Created in 1580 by the Netherlandish artist Gillis van Coninxloo, this oil painting on canvas depicts the mythological narrative of Venus and Adonis.
Created in 1580 by the Netherlandish artist Gillis van Coninxloo, this oil painting on canvas depicts the mythological narrative of Venus and Adonis. While the work is classified as a landscape, its primary subject is the interaction between the Roman goddess of love and her mortal lover, a story drawn from classical antiquity. The composition integrates these figures within a dense natural setting dominated by trees, characteristic of the artist's approach to merging human drama with detailed environmental observation.
By placing the mythological couple within such an elaborate wooded scene, the work represents the late sixteenth-century trend of using classical stories as a vehicle for exploring the aesthetic potential of the natural world, where the landscape itself becomes a central protagonist alongside the divine figures.
Technique & Style
The work Landscape with Venus and Adonis, painted by Gillis van Coninxloo in 1580, is executed in oil on canvas, measuring approximately 37.8 cm by 53.6 cm. It belongs to the Northern Renaissance landscape genre and was created in the Netherlands. The composition places the mythological figures of Venus and Adonis amid a large tree, reflecting Coninxloo’s characteristic attention to botanical detail and atmospheric space. The handling of oil enables rich tonal modulation and subtle chiaroscuro, while the canvas support provides a smooth surface that supports the delicate layering of paint typical of late‑16th‑century Dutch landscape painting.
History & Provenance
Landscape with Venus and Adonis is dated to circa 1580 by internal records and is attributed to Gillis van Coninxloo, a Netherlandish painter active in the late sixteenth century. The work entered the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art in 1962 as accession number 1962.293. Technical and stylistic analysis situates its creation within the Netherlands during the 1580s, aligning with the artist’s mature period. No documented commission or early provenance is recorded prior to its twentieth-century acquisition by the museum.
Gillis van Coninxloo's Landscape with Venus and Adonis, an oil-on-canvas painting created in 1580, is held in the permanent collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art in Cleveland, Ohio. The work is cataloged under the accession number 1962.293. Measuring 37.8 cm in height and 53.6 cm in width, the piece entered the museum's holdings in 1962.
While the provided sources confirm its current location, inventory details, and physical dimensions, they do not contain specific records regarding past or future exhibition history for this specific artwork.
Overview
Gillis van Coninxloo, a prominent Flemish painter, completed Landscape with Venus and Adonis in 1590. This oil painting exemplifies the Mannerist style prevalent during the late 16th century. Coninxloo was instrumental in developing Northern European landscape art, particularly through his detailed forest depictions. The work is currently part of the collection at The Cleveland Museum of Art.
Own this work as a print
Artist & collection
Artist
Gillis van Coninxloo (now also referred to as Gillis van Coninxloo II and previously referred to as Gillis van Coninxloo III) (24 January 1544 – January 1607) was a Flemish painter of landscapes.
- Landscape with Venus and Adonis
Landscape with Procne and Philomela
Evening Landscape
Mountain landscape
Rocky Landscape
Landscape with the Penitent Saint Jerome
The Baptism of the Moorish Chamberlain
Landscape with The Flight into Egypt
Landscape with the Penitent Saint Jerome
Coast Landscape with the so-called Temple of Sibyl at Tivoli
Landschaft mit der Predigt Johannes d. Täufers
Landscape with the Judgement of Paris
