Mars and Venus

c. 1509/1516

Jacopo de' Barbari

Associated Names
Jacopo de' Barbari

Artist, Venetian, c. 1460/1470 - 1516 or before

The image depicts two adults and an infant in a classical style, standing together. The male figure on the left wears ornate armor and the female figure on the right embraces him, holding an infant. The male figure has short hair and strong features, wearing detailed armor and sandals. The female figure has her hair styled back and a relaxed expression, holding the infant who appears content. In the background, there is a cross-hatched design with varying shades, and the floor is patterned.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    engraving

  • Credit Line

    Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund

  • Dimensions

    sheet (trimmed to plate mark): 29 x 18 cm (11 7/16 x 7 1/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1985.26.1

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Hind 'Engravings', Vol. 5, p.153, no. 13

Artwork history & notes

Exhibition History

1985

  • Figure Prints from the National Gallery's Collection, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1985-1986, no cat.

1986

  • Graphic Survey Show, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., February 1986.

2010

  • Jan Gossaert's Renaissance, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; The National Gallery, London, 2010-2011, not in London catalogue (shown only in New York).

Bibliography

1938

  • Hind, Arthur M. Early Italian Engraving; a critical catalogue with complete reproductions of all the prints described. 7 vols. London: Bernard Quaritch Ltd., 1938-1948.

Inscriptions

lower left in plate signed with caduceus; later hand, lower left verso in graphite: 29296

Wikidata ID

Q74067272

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