Aug 19, 2020
Aug 19, 2020

Venus at the Forge of Vulcan

Venus at the Forge of Vulcan

18th century

Louis Félix de La Rue

(French, 1731–1777)

Pen and brown ink, and brown wash (bistre) with red chalk and traces of graphite

Support: Secondary support

Sheet: 19.6 x 32.2 cm (7 11/16 x 12 11/16 in.); Overall: 19.9 x 32.6 cm (7 13/16 x 12 13/16 in.)

Bequest of Muriel Butkin 2017.212

Location

Description

Venus, the goddess of love, descends on a cloud into the forge of Vulcan, the god of fire and metalworking. This scene illustrates an episode from Virgil’s Aeneid in which Venus has come to collect the suit of armor she asked Vulcan to make for her son, Aeneas. Several putti on the left play with the finished product.

See also

Contact us

The information about this object, including provenance, may not be currently accurate. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email [email protected].

To request more information about this object, study images, or bibliography, contact the Ingalls Library Reference Desk.

All images and data available through Open Access can be downloaded for free. For images not available through Open Access, a detail image, or any image with a color bar, request a digital file from Image Services.