Art Appreciation Lecture Series 2015 Meet the Masters: Highlights from the Scottish National Gallery Veronese: Mars, Venus and Cupid Lorraine Kypiotis 25/26 February 2015 Lecture summary: Veronese’s works adorned churches, patrician palaces, villas and public buildings throughout the Veneto region and they are inseparable from our idea of the splendour, opulence and grandeur of 16th century Venice. During the latter half of the century, Veronese’s pictures flowed from his brush with magnificent ease and contemporary critics remarked that his ability was the spontaneous outburst of natural genius. Whilst his pictorial magnificence remains a central aspect of his art, however, apparent in a number of his works based on mythological subjects are his psychological subtlety and his engaging sense of wit and humour. The National Gallery of Scotland’s Mars, Venus and Cupid, a work based on an erotically charged encounter between the goddess of love and the god of war, is no different. How is it, though, that this painting of Venus, her lover the god of war and her son Cupid, by the great master of the Italian 16th century found its way from Italy to Scotland? Slide list: 1. Veronese, Mars, Venus and Cupid (c.1580) oil on canvas. National Gallery Scotland. (Major work shown throughout presentation) 2. Veronese, Feast in the House of Levi (1573) oil on Canvas. Accademia. Venice 3. Van Dyck, Charles I on Horseback (1633) oil on Canvas. Detail. 4. Anonymous, The Entry of Prince Charles into Madrid (17th century) Madrid, Museo Municipale. 5. Balthasar Gerbier, Miniature portrait of the young Charles, Prince of Wales (1616-17) V&A, London. 6. Titian, Young Woman with a Fur Coat (1535) oil on canvas. Kunsthistorisches, Vienna 7. Titian, Jupiter and Anthiope (The Pardo Venus) 1540-42, Louvre [Type text] Proudly sponsored by 8. Titian, Charles V with a Hound (1532-33) Prado 9. Rubens, Equestrian Portrait of the Duke of Lerma (1603) Oil on canvas. Prado Madrid. 10. Titian, Charles V at Muhlberg (1548) Oil on canvas. Prado. 11. Jacopo Bassano, The Supper at Emmaus (c.1538) Oil on canvas. Kimbell Art Museum. 12. Titian, Salome with the Head of the Baptist (1560) Oil on Canvas. Prado. 13. Veronese, Mars and Venus United by Love (c.1570-75) Oil on canvas. The Met NY 14. Veronese, Mars and Venus (c.1575-80) Oil on Canvas. Galleria Sabauda, Turin. 15. Veronese, The Supper at Emmaus (c.1555) oil on canvas. Louvre 16. Veronese, The Virgin and Child with Saints and the Coccina Family (c.1571) Oil on Canvas. Gemäldegalerie, Dresden 17. Veronese, Stanza del Cane and Sala del Olimpo (details) Villa Barbaro, Maser 18. Pisanello, St George and the Princess (c.1444-46) Fresco. Sant’ Anastasia, Verona 19. Veronese, Studies of Venus with Cupid; Venus seated to left, (1580) Drawing - Pen and brown ink, with grey-brown wash, partly squared for transfer. British Museum. 20. X-radiograph of Mars, Venus and Cupid 21. Veronese, Mars, Venus and Cupid (c.1580) oil on canvas. National Gallery Scotland. Reference: Veronese (2014) Salomon, Xavier F. National Gallery Company Paolo Veronese (2014) Zamperini, Alessandra. Thames and Hudson. Veronese: Gods, Heroes and Allegories (2004) De Vecchi, Pierluigi. Thames and Hudson. Scottish Treasures: Masterpieces from the National Gallery of Scotland (2003) National Galleries of Scotland. To access Art Appreciation Notes with Images please go to: http://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/members/current-members/member-events/meet-the-masters/ Images: Veronese, Mars, Venus and Cupid (c.1580) oil on canvas. National Gallery Scotland. [Type text] Studies of Venus with Cupid; Venus seated to left, (1580) looking down to front Pen and brown ink, with grey-brown wash, partly squared for transfer 171 mm x 127 mm. British Museum. To access Art Appreciation Notes with Images please go to: http://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/members/current-members/member-events/meet-the-masters/ .