The myth of Venus and Adonis in Rubens

There are a number of myths surrounding Venus and Adonis, which Rubens translated into moving works. The depiction of the goddess of beauty and Adonis, a young man famous above all for his beauty, was understandably an appealing challenge for painters. In this lecture, Gerlinde Gruber will report on her research project as part of the international collaboration on Ludwig Burchard's Corpus Rubenianum and present the various paintings Rubens created on this myth. The origins of the anemone and the red rose will be clarified in keeping with the forthcoming arrival of spring, and we will also learn about the various literary and pictorial sources of Rubens' interpretations of the myth of the unhappy lovers.