Venus and Adonis by Nicolas Bertin

Nicolas Bertin (1667–1736), winner of the Prix de Rome in 1685, distinguishes himself here with the mythological style that earned him great acclaim amongst his contemporaries.

The scene in this painting is inspired by the *Metamorphoses* by the Latin poet Ovid, a work translated and published numerous times during the^18th century, which served as a source of inspiration for many artists. The famous painting by Titian (Madrid, Museo del Prado), of which there are numerous copies, popularised this episode within the world of painting. Nicolas Bertin produced numerous versions of this theme, which can be found in private collections or on the art market (Drouot-Montaigne auction, Paris, 13 June 1997; Christie’s auction, New York, 29 January 1998). It can be compared with the six paintings based on Ovid’s *Metamorphoses* held at the Carcassonne Museum, and with the *Venus and Adonis* (private collection, see T. Lefrançois, 1981, p. 141, no. 67), which has a similar composition.

Owing to his beauty, Adonis—the product of the incestuous union between Myrrha and her father Cinyras—is the object of Venus’s passion, but also of Proserpine, goddess of the underworld, to whom he is said to have been entrusted at birth. Jupiter compels him to divide his time between the two goddesses: he thus spends autumn and winter with Proserpina, and spring and summer with Venus.

The putti, arranging a garland of flowers in a festoon around a sort of makeshift canopy, signal the arrival of spring, much like a stage setting in an opera, where clouds and drapery allow for a change of scenery. Adonis’s gesture is equally theatrical, as he proudly brandishes a spear, whilst his femininity is accentuated by long blonde curls falling over his shoulders.

Whilst Venus exudes sensuality in much the same way as François Boucher would later do, the scene is far less steeped in eroticism than in the Rococo period. It is a theatrical scene, brought to life in a unique way by animals—dogs, pigeons and swans—which bear witness to the painter’s distinct eye for observing animals.

In Titian’s work, the two dogs and the spear are depicted to evoke the continuation of the legend of Adonis. Venus accompanies her young lover everywhere, even hunting with him. She pursues hares, stags and fallow deer but keeps her distance from wild boars, wolves, bears and lions, and warns Adonis against being overly reckless in the face of these wild beasts. Carefree, the young man pays no heed to Venus’s warnings and, whilst out hunting, is mortally wounded by a wild boar. Overcome with grief, the goddess transforms the blood of her departed beloved into an anemone.

In Nicolas Bertin’s painting, Venus appears to be engaged in conversation with her lover and might well be warning him, yet any sense of drama is absent. One of the two dogs is lying down and seems hardly inclined to go hunting, whilst the weapon held in Adonis’s left hand evokes an opera singer rather than a hunter.

C. B. Bailey, The Loves of the Gods from Watteau to David, exhibition catalogue , Paris, Galeries nationales du Grand Palais, October 1991–January 1992 and Fine Art Museum, Fort Worth, May–August 1992, Paris, RMN, 1991.

J.-L. Bordeaux, *François Lemoyne and his Generation*, Neuilly-sur-Seine , Arthéna, 1984.

T. Lefrançois, *Nicolas Bertin (1668–1736), History Painter*, Neuilly-sur-Seine , Arthéna, 1981.