MALE NARRATOR:
The ancient poets Homer and Ovid both recounted the adulterous affair of Mars and Venus, depicted here by the 16th-century Dutch painter Cornelis van Haarlem.
Venus, wife of the lame blacksmith god Vulcan, fell in love with Mars, the robust god of war. She slept with him in her husband’s palace. The Sun god Helios, making his daily rounds through the sky, witnessed their tryst and alerted Vulcan. Furious, Vulcan forged an invisible net and secretly fixed it to the lovers’ bed. At their next rendezvous, the two were entangled. There, Vulcan found them and rallied the other gods to witness the sordid spectacle.
In the 16th and early 17th centuries, Dutch patrons savored stories of the loves of ancient gods, both for their eroticism and learned allusions. Here, we see Venus draped languidly over her bed as her handmaidens undress her. Mars, too, is helped out of his clothes, his sword and helmet already cast on the floor. The scene is filled with joyful anticipation, flowers are strewn and pillows plumped while winged cherubs lift the curtains of the heavy canopy. Trouble is afoot, however, as Helios rides his chariot across the silvery sky, spying the couple through the open window on the upper right.
Cornelis recounted the story in delicious detail, working in a fluent, elegant style. He painted in oil on copper, a support favored by Dutch artists at the time. Its smooth surface allows for a suave handling of the paint, lending the scene a sensuality befitting its erotic subject matter.
This painting may also allude to contemporary political events. To hear about them, press 1461.
Mars and Venus
1599
Cornelis van Haarlem (Dutch, 1562-1638)
On View
The love affair of Mars and Venus is recounted by Homer in the Odyssey and by Ovid in the Metamorphoses. Venus, the wife of Vulcan, falls in love with Mars, the god of war. The moment of their tryst is depicted here with great pictorial flair. Maidservants prepare the goddess of love for her amorous adventure. Mars, too, is assisted out of his garment, his weapons already cast aside at his feet. No longer the ferocious warrior, Mars is subdued by the power of love. The artist includes the charming device of two putti at right holding the god’s shield and halberd. This painted story was enjoyed as much for its learned, literary references as for its erotic content.
Details
- Artist Name: Cornelis van Haarlem (Dutch, 1562-1638)
- Title: Mars and Venus
- Date: 1599
- Medium: Oil on copper
- Dimensions: 21-3/4 x 17-1/4 in. (55.2 x 43.8 cm)
- Credit Line: Norton Simon Art Foundation, from the Estate of Jennifer Jones Simon
- Accession Number: M.2010.1.25.P
- Copyright: © Norton Simon Art Foundation
Object Information
Possibly Aeltie Pieters. Begga, Haarlem, 3 August 1684.
Presumably Wilhelmus van Velthuyzen (sale, Rotterdam, Philippus Losel, 15 April 1751, lot 47, to?);
Hendrik Verschuuring, The Hague, by 1752 (sale, The Hague, Stephanus Rietmulder, 17 September 1770, lot 75).
Jan Lucas van der Dussen (sale, Amsterdam, Jan Sleves Hendriksz., Philippus van der Schley/Jan Yver, 31 October 1774, lot 19, for 110 to);
[Cornelis Ploos van Amstel (1726-1798), Amsterdam].
Probably (Anonymous sale, Amsterdam, Van Campen, 25 January 1830, lot 29, to);
Esser.
Possibly Sagan collection and thus by descent to;
Frederic Wilhelm Konstantin, Prince of Hohenzollern-Hechingen, Löwenberg-Schlesien, 1858 – still in 1863.
[Fritz Gurlitt, Berlin, 1935];
[Wolfgang Gurlitt, Munich, by 1955, (sale Cologne, Lempertz, 18 November 1965, lot 64, to)];
Ruax or Raux [for?];
[Adolphe Stein, Paris, by 1966].
[Kunsthandel P. de Boer, Switzerland, by 1966, consigned to P. de Boer, Amsterdam October, 1966, sold July 1967 to];
Becker Collection, Dortmund, sold 1973 through;
[G. Cramer Oudekunst, The Hague, to];
Norton Simon, by bequest 1993 to;
Jennifer Jones Simon Art Trust, to;
Norton Simon Art Foundation.
Presumably Wilhelmus van Velthuyzen (sale, Rotterdam, Philippus Losel, 15 April 1751, lot 47, to?);
Hendrik Verschuuring, The Hague, by 1752 (sale, The Hague, Stephanus Rietmulder, 17 September 1770, lot 75).
Jan Lucas van der Dussen (sale, Amsterdam, Jan Sleves Hendriksz., Philippus van der Schley/Jan Yver, 31 October 1774, lot 19, for 110 to);
[Cornelis Ploos van Amstel (1726-1798), Amsterdam].
Probably (Anonymous sale, Amsterdam, Van Campen, 25 January 1830, lot 29, to);
Esser.
Possibly Sagan collection and thus by descent to;
Frederic Wilhelm Konstantin, Prince of Hohenzollern-Hechingen, Löwenberg-Schlesien, 1858 – still in 1863.
[Fritz Gurlitt, Berlin, 1935];
[Wolfgang Gurlitt, Munich, by 1955, (sale Cologne, Lempertz, 18 November 1965, lot 64, to)];
Ruax or Raux [for?];
[Adolphe Stein, Paris, by 1966].
[Kunsthandel P. de Boer, Switzerland, by 1966, consigned to P. de Boer, Amsterdam October, 1966, sold July 1967 to];
Becker Collection, Dortmund, sold 1973 through;
[G. Cramer Oudekunst, The Hague, to];
Norton Simon, by bequest 1993 to;
Jennifer Jones Simon Art Trust, to;
Norton Simon Art Foundation.
Meister des Manierismus: Gemälde, Handzeichnungen, Drückgraphik
- Munich, Galerie Wolfgang Gurlitt, 1962 to
Winter Exhibition 1966/67
- Kunsthandel P. de Boer, 1967 to 1968
- Parthey, G., Deutscher Bildersaal, 1863, p. 676
- Stechow, Wolfgang, Elseviers Geillustreerd Maandschrift, 1935, p. 84
- Kunsthalle P. de Boer, Winter Exhibition 1966/67, 1966,
- Rolf, Fritz, Sammlung Becker I: Gemälde alter Meister, 1967,
- Norton Simon Museum, Selected Paintings at the Norton Simon Museum, 1980, p. 37
- Sutton, Peter C., A Guide to Dutch Art in America, 1986, p. 215
- Campbell, Sara, Collector Without Walls: Norton Simon and His Hunt for the Best, 2010, cat. 982 p. 359
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