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Home » Collection » Venus and Adonis
  • Provenance
  • Exhibition History
  • Bibliography
Provenance

Robert Spencer, 2nd earl of Sunderland [1641-1702], London and Althorp, Northamptonshire, by 1679;[1] by inheritance to his youngest son, the Hon. John Spencer [d. 1746], Althorp;[2] by inheritance to John Spencer, 1st earl Spencer [1734-1783], Althorp;[3] by inheritance to George John Spencer, 2nd earl Spencer [1758-1834], Althorp;[4] by inheritance to John Charles Spencer, 3rd earl Spencer [1782-1845], Althorp; by inheritance to Frederick Spencer, 4th earl Spencer [1798-1857], Althorp; by inheritance to John Poyntz Spencer, 5th earl Spencer [1835-1910], Althorp; by inheritance to Charles Robert Spencer, 6th earl Spencer [1857-1922], Althorp; by inheritance to Albert Edward John Spencer, 7th earl Spencer [1892-1975], Althorp; sold 1924 to (Thos. Agnew & Sons, Ltd., London); sold 1925 to (Arthur J. Sulley and Co., London); inheritance from Estate of Peter A.B. Widener by gift through power of appointment of Joseph E. Widener, Elkins Park, after purchased 1925 by funds of the Estate; gift 1942 to NGA.

[1] The picture is first certainly recorded in the Chelsea house of Anne Russell Digby, Countess of Bristol [d. 1696/1697], mother-in-law of Lord Sunderland, by John Evelyn on 15 January 1679 (John Evelyn, The Diary of John Evelyn (1620–1706), ed. Esmond S. de Beer, 6 vols., Oxford, 1955: 4:162). Yet although Sunderland inherited a few family portraits from his mother-in-law, he acquired most of his extensive collection during his diplomatic career, including in Italy (Kenneth Garlick, “A Catalogue of Pictures at Althorp,” Walpole Society 45 [1974-1976]: xiii-xiv); and according to Thomas F. Dibdin, Aedes Althorpianae: An Account of the Mansion, Books and Pictures at Althorp, London, 1822: 13, the Venus and Adonis was one of Sunderland's favorite purchases. In 1685, still in the lifetime of Lady Bristol, Evelyn saw the picture again at Sunderland’s house in Whitehall (Evelyn 1955, 4:403). Harold Wethey repeats a theory that the picture is identical with a Venus and Adonis mentioned by Marco Boschini, in the Palazzo Barbarigo della Terrazza in Venice, and which is sometimes supposed to have been acquired by Cristoforo Barbarigo soon after Titian’s death from his son Pomponio; see Harold Wethey, The Paintings of Titian, 3 vols., London, 1969-1975: 3(1975):193–194; and Marco Boschini, La Carta del Navegar Pitoresco (1660), ed. Anna Pallucchini, Venice, 1966: 30, 664. But apart from the fact that Cristoforo’s will of 1600, which does mention the Gallery’s Venus with a Mirror (NGA 1937.1.34), makes no mention of any Venus and Adonis, Siebenhüner demonstrated that the Barbarigo version was of an upright format, was still in Venice in 1793/1795, was sold to the Czar of Russia in 1850, and is now lost. See Herbert Siebenhüner, Der Palazzo Barbarigo della Terrazza in Venedig und seine Tizian-Sammlung, Munich, 1981: 30; and also Fern Rusk Shapley, Catalogue of the Italian Paintings, 2 vols., Washington, 1979: 1:495.

[2] George Knapton’s catalogue of 1746, with an attribution to “Schidone” (Andrea Schiavone), after Titian (Kenneth Garlick, “A Catalogue of Pictures at Althorp,” Walpole Society 45 [1974-1976)]: 99 no. 175).

[3] Althorp catalogue of 1750, as by Schiavone after Titian (Kenneth Garlick, “A Catalogue of Pictures at Althorp,” Walpole Society 45 [1974-1976]: 108).

[4] Althorp catalogue of 1802, as by Schiavone after Titian (Kenneth Garlick, “A Catalogue of Pictures at Althorp,” Walpole Society 45 [1974-1976]: 124); Thomas F. Dibdin, Aedes Althorpianae: An Account of the Mansion, Books and Pictures at Althorp, London, 1822: 13-14, as by Titian; George John Spencer, 2nd Earl, Catalogue of the Pictures at Althorp House, in the County of North Hampton, 1831: 7.

Exhibition History
1922
Loan Exhibition of Pictures by Old Masters on behalf of Lord Haig's appeal for ex-service men, Thomas Agnew and Sons, London, 1922, no. 14..
1989
Masterpieces of Western European Painting of the XVIth-XXth Centuries from the Museums of the European Countries and USA, State Hermitage Museum, Leningrad, 1989, no. 5, repro.
1996
Rings: Five Passions in World Art, High Museum of Art, Atlanta, 1996, unnumbered catalogue, repro.
Bibliography
1822
Dibdin, Thomas F. Aedes Althorpianae: An Account of the Mansion, Books and
Pictures at Althorp. London, 1822: 13.
1833
Passavant, Johann David. Kunstreise durch England und Belgien. Frankfurt, 1833: 191.
1836
Spencer, George John, 2nd Earl. Catalogue of the Pictures at Althorp House, in the County of North Hampton. London, 1836: 9 no. 71.
1921
Graves, Algernon. Art Sales from Early in the Eighteenth Century to Early in the
Twentieth Century (mostly Old Master and Early English Pictures). 3 vols. London, 1918–1921: 3(1921): 210-213.
1922
Thos. Agnew & Sons. Catalogue of Pictures by Old Masters. London, 1922: 8 no. 14.
1923
Brockwell, Maurice. “Une exposition d’anciens maîtres à la Galerie Agnew.” Gazette des Beaux-Arts 65, no. 7 (1923): 55-56.
1923
Fry, Roger. “A Monthly Chronicle. Old Masters Exhibition at Messrs. Agnew.” The
Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs 42 (1923): 54.
1924
Holmes, Charles. “Titian’s Venus and Adonis in the National Gallery.” The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs 45 (1924): 21.
1925
Mayer, August L. “Tizianstudien.” Münchner Jahrbuch der Bildenden Kunst 2 (1925): 276.
1926
Marillier, H. C. Christie's 1766 to 1925. London, 1926: 50, 224.
1930
Burchard, Ludwig. Unknown Masterpieces in Public and Private Collections. 2 vols.
Edited by William R. Valentiner. London, 1930: 1:n.p.
1930
Valentiner, Wilhelm R., ed. Unknown Masterpieces in Public and Private Collections. London, 1930: n.p., pl. 24.
1931
Paintings in the Collection of Joseph Widener at Lynnewood Hall. Intro. by Wilhelm R. Valentiner. Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, 1931: 6, repro.
1932
Berenson, Bernard. Italian Pictures of the Renaissance: A List of the Principal Artists and their Works with an Index of Places. Oxford, 1932: 574.
1935
Suida, Wilhelm. Le Titien. Paris, 1935: 120-121.
1936
Berenson, Bernard. Pitture italiane del rinascimento: catalogo dei principali artisti e delle loro opere con un indice dei luoghi. Translated by Emilio Cecchi. Milan, 1936: 494.
1938
Waldmann, Emil. "Die Sammlung Widener." Pantheon 22 (November 1938): 340.
1942
Works of Art from the Widener Collection. Foreword by David Finley and John Walker. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1942: 7.
1944
Cairns, Huntington, and John Walker, eds., Masterpieces of Painting from the National Gallery of Art. New York, 1944: 68, color repro.
1946
Riggs, Arthur Stanley. Titian the Magnificent and the Venice of His Day. New York, 1946: 9, color repro.
1948
Paintings and Sculpture from the Widener Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1948 (reprinted 1959): 23, repro.
1950
Tietze, Hans. Titian. The Paintings and Drawings. London, 1950: 402.
1951
Einstein, Lewis. Looking at Italian Pictures in the National Gallery of Art. Washington, 1951: 86-87, repro.
1954
Tietze, Hans. “An Early Version of Titian’s Danaë: an Analysis of Titian’s Replicas.” Arte Veneta 8 (1954): 201-202.
1955
Evelyn, John. The Diary of John Evelyn (1620–1706). Edited by Esmond S. de Beer. 6 vols. Oxford, 1955: 4:162, 403.
1957
Berenson, Bernard. Italian Pictures of the Renaissance. Venetian School. 2 vols. London, 1957: 1:192.
1959
Gould, Cecil. National Gallery Catalogues: The Sixteenth Century Venetian School. London, 1959: 99.
1959
Morassi, Antonio. “Titian.” In Encyclopedia of World Art. 17+ vols. London, 1959+,
14(1967): col. 147.
1960
The National Gallery of Art and Its Collections. Foreword by Perry B. Cott and notes by Otto Stelzer. National Gallery of Art, Washington (undated, 1960s): 26.
1960
Valcanover, Francesco. Tutta la pittura di Tiziano. 2 vols. Milan, 1960: 2:44.
1963
Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. New York, 1963 (reprinted 1964 in French, German, and Spanish): 150, repro.
1964
Morassi, Antonio. Titian. Greenwich, CT, 1964: 63.
1965
Summary Catalogue of European Paintings and Sculpture. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1965: 130.
1966
Cairns, Huntington, and John Walker, eds. A Pageant of Painting from the National Gallery of Art. 2 vols. New York, 1966: 1:180, color repro.
1968
European Paintings and Sculpture, Illustrations. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1968: 117, repro.
1969
Pallucchini, Rodolfo. Tiziano. 2 vols. Florence, 1969: 1:142, 315.
1969
Panofsky, Erwin. Problems in Titian, Mostly Iconographic. New York, 1969: 151.
1969
Valcanover, Francesco. L’opera completa di Tiziano. Milan, 1969: 128-9 no. 429.
1969
Wethey, Harold. The Paintings of Titian. 3 vols. London, 1969-1975: 3(1975): 59, 193-194, 241-242.
1972
Fredericksen, Burton B., and Federico Zeri. Census of Pre-Nineteenth Century Italian Paintings in North American Public Collections. Cambridge, Mass., 1972: 203, 475, 646.
1972
Rosand, David. “Ut Pictor Poeta: Meaning in Titian’s Poesie.” New Literary History 3 (1972): 539.
1973
Zeri, Federico, and Elizabeth Gardner. Italian Paitnings. A Catalogue of the Metropolitan Museum of Art: Venetian School. New York, 1973: 81-82.
1974
Garlick, Kenneth. "A Catalogue of Pictures at Althorp." Walpole Society 45 (1974-1976): 99, 108, 124.
1975
European Paintings: An Illustrated Summary Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1975: 346, repro.
1975
Gould, Cecil. National Gallery Catalogues: The Sixteenth Century Italian Schools. London, 1975: 298.
1979
Shapley, Fern Rusk. Catalogue of the Italian Paintings. 2 vols. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1979: I:492-495, II:pl. 348, as Titian and Studio.
1980
Anderson, Jaynie. "Giorgione, Titian and the Sleeping Venus." In Tiziano e Venezia. Convegno internazionale di studi. Venezia, 1976. Vicenza, 1980: 339.
1980
Gentili, Augusto. Da Tiziano a Tiziano: mito e allegoria nella cultura veneziana del
Cinquecento. Milan, 1980: 115-116.
1980
Heinemann, Fritz. “La bottega di Tiziano.” In Tiziano e Venezia: convegno internazionale di studi (1976). Vicenza, 1980: 435.
1981
Siebenhüner, Herbert. Der Palazzo Barbarigo della Terrazza in Venedig und seine Tizian-Sammlung. Munich, 1981: 30.
1982
Chiari, Maria Agnese. Incisioni da Tiziano: catalogo del fondo grafico a stampa del Museo Correr. Venice, 1982: 142, 157.
1982
Fehl, Philipp. “Beauty and the Historian of Art: Titian’s Venus and Adonis.” In Atti del XXIV Congresso Internazionale di Storia dell’Arte, vol. 10: problemi di metodo, condizioni di esistenza di una storia dellárte (1979). Edited by Lajos Vayer. Bologna, 1982: 188; Reprint 1992: 107.
1982
López Torrijos, Rosa. “Un dibujode mitologia para las pinturas del Palacio del Viso del Marqués.” Archivo Español de Arte 217 (1982): 76-79.
1984
Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 212, no. 259, color repro.
1985
European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1985: 396, repro.
1987
Bertini, Giuseppe. La Galleria del Duca di Parma. Storia di una Collezione. Bologna, 1987: 134.
1988
Gentili, Augusto. Da Tiziano a Tiziano: mito e allegoria nella cultura veneziana del
Cinquecento. 2nd ed. Rome, 1988: 176-177.
1989
Obnovlenskaia, N.G. Masterpieces of western European painting of the XVIth-XXth centuries from the museums of the European countries and USA. Exh. cat. State Hermitage Museum, Leningrad, 1989: no. 5, repro.
1990
Titian, Prince of Painters. Exh. cat. Palazzo Ducale, Venice; National Gallery of Art, Washington. Venice, 1990: 328-330.
1991
Kopper, Philip. America's National Gallery of Art: A Gift to the Nation. New York, 1991: 195.
1993
Le Siècle de Titien. L’Âge d’Or de la Peinture à Venise. Exh. cat. Grand Palais, Paris, 1993: 616-617.
1995
Fornari Schianchi, Lucia, and Nicola Spinosa, eds. I Farnese: Arte e collezionismo. Exh. cat. Palazzo Ducale, Colorno; Galleria Nazionale di Capodimonte, Naples; Haus der Kunst, Munich. Milan, 1995: 208.
1996
Rearick, W. R. “Titian’s Later Mythologies.” Artibus et Historiae 17, no. 33 (1996): 24, 34, 53.
1997
Goffen, Rona. Titian's Women. New Haven and London, 1997: no. 131, repro.
1999
Sutherland, Bruce D. “A Subtle Allusion in Titian’s Venus and Adonis Paintings.” Venezia Cinquecento 9, no. 17 (1999): 37, 49.
1999
Valcanover, Francesco. Tiziano: I suoi pennelli sempre partorirono espressioni di vita. Florence, 1999: 267.
2001
Pedrocco, Filippo. Titian: The Complete Paintings. New York, 2001: 260.
2003
Hosono, Kiyo. “Venere e Adone di Tiziano: la scelta del soggetto e le sue fonti.”
Venezia Cinquecento 13, no. 26 (2003): 119, 125, repro. 127.
2005
Bayer, Andrea. “North of the Apennines. Sixteenth-century Italian Painting in Venice and the Veneto.” Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 63, no. 1 (Summer 2005): 15.
2006
Joannides, Paul. “Titian and the Extract.” Studi Tizianeschi 4 (2006): 139-140.
2007
Humfrey, Peter. Titian: The Complete Paintings. Ghent and New York, 2007: 338.
2007
Joannides, Paul, and Jill Dunkerton. “A Boy with a Bird in the National Gallery: Two Responses to a Titian Question.” National Gallery Technical Bulletin 28 (2007): 36.
2007
Joannides, Paul. “Titian’s Repetitions.” In Titian: Materiality, Likeness, Istoria. Edited by Joanna Woods-Marsden. Turnhout, 2007: 46.
2007
Markova, Vittoria. “Una nuova versione della Venere e Adone di Tiziano. Notizie storico artistiche.” In Una nuova versione della Venere e Adone di Tiziano. Exh. cat. Gallerie dell’Accademia, Venice, 2007: 24.
2008
Penny, Nicholas. National Gallery Catalogues: The Sixteenth Century Italian Paintings, Vol. 2: Venice 1540-1600. London, 2008: 277, 282-283.
2012
Gentili, Augusto. Tiziano. Milan, 2012: 263.
2012
Georgievska-Shine, Aneta. “Titian and the Paradoxes of Love and Art in Venus and Adonis.” Artibus et Historiae 33, no. 65 (2012): 99-100.
2013
Evans, Godfrey. “‘Vaulting ambition, which o’erleaps itself’: The Dukes of Hamilton and Titian.” In The Reception of Titian in Britain: From Reynolds to Ruskin. Edited by Peter Humfrey. Turnhout, 2013: 136.
2014
Falomir, Miguel, and Paul Joannides. “Dánae y Venus y Adonis: origen y evolución.” In Dánae y Venus y Adonis, las primeras ‘poesías’ de Tiziano para Felipe II. Edited by Miguel Falomir. Exh. cat. Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid, 2014: 34-36, 67-68.