Collection Online as of October 1, 2023

Venus and Adonis

mid-1700s

follower of Georg Raphael Donner

(Austrian, 1693–1741)

Austria, Vienna

Lead

Overall: 20.6 x 20.7 cm (8 1/8 x 8 1/8 in.)

John L. Severance Fund 1987.198

Location

not on view

Description

Venus, the goddess of love, fell in love with the mortal Adonis. Here she urges him not to pursue the dangerous sport of hunting boar, advice he ignored, eventually leading to his death.

Inscriptions

Inscription

inscribed in ink on top edge: 299.2.US [?] A [?].

Provenance

Gordon Balderston (London, England), sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art, 1987.

Exhibition history

CMA 1988, "Year in Review 1987," Bulletin, 75 (Feb. 1988), p. 65, cat. #20

The Year in Review for 1987. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 24-April 17, 1988).