D'après Le TITIEN - Tiziano Vecellio (Pieve di... Lot n° 11

Venus and Adonis (Ovid, Metamorphoses, X, 520-728). Oil on canvas. 178.5 x 212 cm. Re-tooled; restorations; old yellowed and soiled varnish. In love with the handsome Adonis, Venus tries to dissuade, but in vain, her young lover from leaving to hunt dangerous beasts. "Neither your youth, nor your beauty, nor anything that touched the heart of Venus touches the lions, nor the boars with rough silks, the eyes nor the heart of the ferocious beasts" (v.545 and following). An early version of a composition made for Philip II of Spain (circa 1553-1554) kept in the Prado Museum (canvas 186 x 207 cm.) (cf. Filippo Pedroco, Titian, n°180, p. 236 of the catalog - Liana Levi, 2000). Object of several replicas, often with the help of assistants (London, The National Gallery, canvas 177 x 187 cm. ; Rome, Palazzo Barberini ; canvas 187 x 184 cm.), the work also inspired autograph variants (Washington, National Gallery ; New York, Metropolitan), as well as simple copies (cf. Peter Humfrey, n°191 & 226, 265 & 266 - Ludion, 2007). Expert : DUBOIS Patrice