Mars and Venus surprised by Vulcan
c. 1754
Talk about an awkward morning! This scandalous scene depicts the goddess of love, Venus, and her lover Mars getting caught in bed by her husband, the blacksmith god Vulcan. In the myth, Vulcan forged a magical net to trap the cheating couple, and here he stands on the right, holding the net while cherubs act like stagehands pulling back a golden curtain to reveal the affair. It’s a quintessential Rococo masterpiece by François Boucher, the favorite painter of Madame de Pompadour, filled with the soft pastels, silky skin, and playful eroticism that the French aristocracy absolutely devoured.
- Technique
- Oil painting
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