Venus and Adonis
1650
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
1650
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
Venus and Adonis is a 1650 by Théodorus van Kessel, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.
This black-and-white print shows a naked woman and a boy sitting close together under a tree. Around them, three small children play—one holds a dog, another leans on the woman’s leg. The background is packed with bushes and swirling clouds, giving it a busy, almost crowded feel. The woman’s pose looks relaxed, but her hand on the boy’s chest adds a quiet tension. The artist used deep shadows and smooth shading to make the figures stand out against the dark background. Try looking up *chiaroscuro* to see how this technique works in other art.
The print depicts the mythological scene of Venus and Adonis, adapted from a composition by Paolo Veronese, rendered in ink on paper by Théodorus van Kessel in 1650.
Read the full account in the museum source.
Théodorus van Kessel kept a shop in Antwerp where artists and collectors crowded around his engraving plates.
See the richer artist pageYour cart is empty
Explore artworks →
