An artwork on Galleree from Minneapolis Institute of Art.
About the artwork
Venus and Adonisc. 1650
Artist: Nicolas Mignard (Mignard d'Avignon)
French, 1606-1668
147 x 89 x 6 1/2 in. (373.38 x 226.06 x 16.51 cm) (outer frame)
107 1/2 x 69 11/16 in. (273.05 x 177.01 cm) (sight)
Oil on canvas
Painting
France
17th century
Gift of Bruce B. Dayton
In the soft glow of twilight, the world seemed to hush, holding its breath for the timeless tale of love and loss. In the exquisite realm of Greek mythology, Venus, the radiant goddess of love and beauty, found her heart captivated by the striking mortal, Adonis. He was as much a creature of beauty as he was of vigor, and with dreams as wild as the forests he roamed, he sought adventure with a spear gripped firmly in his hand and loyal hounds at his side.
But with every fierce stride he took towards the wilderness, Venus felt a pang of anxiety. Swiftly, she reached out to him, her voice tender yet urgent, brushing against the edges of the evening breeze. “Stay with me, Adonis. The hunt is fraught with peril, and I fear for your safety.” Her eyes sparkled with a love that rivaled the night sky, yet he, driven by youthful bravado, dismissed her words as mere warnings of a jealous heart.
As the sun dipped beneath the horizon and the shadows deepened, tragedy struck. A wild boar emerged from the tangled underbrush, fierce and unforgiving. Adonis fell—a life extinguished too soon—leaving behind the broken heart of the goddess who adored him.
In her overwhelming grief, Venus didn’t let her love dissipate into the wind. Instead, her sorrow gave birth to beauty. From the ground where Adonis fell, she wove his blood into delicate anemones, their fragile petals whispering secrets of love lost, swaying gently in the cool dusk. They bloomed, their hues a poignant reminder of the bond they once shared, now eternally intertwined with nature's fragile grace.
This narrative unfolds in a stunning painting crafted by the talented Mignard, whose brush captured the very essence of this sorrowful scene. Reflecting the classicizing style beloved in 1600s France, his work is monumental, adorned with idealized figures draped in soft fabrics that ripple with life. Each stroke of his brush revealed a gifted understanding of color, fostering a luminous palette that danced across Adonis’s elegant drapery and the regal purple canopy above a cherubic Cupid.
In the interplay of light and shadow, one can almost hear the whispers of Venus’s plea, feel the pulse of her love, and witness the fragile beauty that blooms from the depths of her heartache. The painting stands not just as a representation of a myth but as a testament to the enduring power of love—a narrative that resonates through time, reminding us of both the fragility of life and the beauty that can emerge from sorrow.
About the artist
Inspiring wonder through the power of art. The Minneapolis Institute of Art enriches the community by collecting, preserving, and making accessible outstanding works of art from the world’s diverse cultures.
The artworks shared on this platform are sourced from the museum's Open Access data under the CC0 license. No endorsement is implied.
Address: 2400 Third Avenue South Minneapolis, Minnesota 55404
The best place to view Minneapolis Institute of Art‘s artwork is on Galleree. Hear the story behind this work, interact with the image, discuss with people, curate your own playlists, and discover so much more from great artists and institutions alike.