1695
oil
canvas
From the collection of Art Institute of Chicago
Venus and Cupid at the Forge of Vulcan is a 1695 oil by Johann Michael Rottmayr, a Barbizon school work, held at Art Institute of Chicago.
Here’s Venus and Cupid at the Forge of Vulcan by Rottmayr. You see Venus in a bright pink dress standing with Cupid. Vulcan and his helpers hammer metal in a dark forge behind them. The light hits Venus sharply against all that shadow. This isn’t just a myth scene. The sharp contrast of light and dark makes it feel dramatic, almost like a spotlight on stage. The figures look real, but the glow on Venus feels magical. Curious about the light trick? Look up chiaroscuro.
Unknown Illinois banker; given by banker to Jacob S. Sherman, Chicago, during the 1930s as collateral for a loan that was never repaid [according to Robert Parker Sherman, son of Jacob S. Sherman, telephone conversation with Martha Wolff, 23 July 2003, transcribed in curatorial file]; bequeathed by Jacob S. Sherman (died 1961) to the Art Institute, 1961.
University of Chicago, David and Alfred Smart Gallery, "German and Austrian Painting of the Eighteenth Century," 20 April–11 June 1978, no. 26.
Art Institute of Chicago, Paintings in The Art Institute of Chicago: A Catalogue of the Picture Collection (Chicago, 1961), p. 405A. Edward A. Maser, "Five Early Paintings by Johann Michael Rottmayr," Art Institute of Chicago Museum Studies 2 (1967), pp. 19, 22–31, pl. 3. Edward A. Maser, "Fünf frühe Gemälde des Johann Rottmayr," Alte und Moderne Kunst 24 (1979), pp. 1–4, ill. no. 1.
Read the full account in the museum source.
Johann Michael Rottmayr (1656–1730) was an Austrian artist, born in Laufen.
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