Italian school; second half of the 17th century.

Italian school; second half of the 17th century.
"Venus disarming Mars",
Oil on canvas. Relined antique.
Presents labels on the back.
It has faults in the pictorial surface.
Measurements: 98 x 111 cm.
The voluptuousness of the forms of the protagonist, and the sensuality of them indicate that it is the representation of the goddess Venus. Located in the center of the composition, she is surrounded by a whole retinue of little lovers who surround her and entertain her. The goddess looking at one of the little love birds holding an arrow, points with her hand towards an area of the composition where you can see part of the body of a male character, also in the lower area you can see the glittering flashes of a suit of armor. This feature indicates that the man may be Mars. Although Venus was married to the god Hephaestus, she began a relationship with the god Mars, who had fallen in love when he saw her. Thus initiating a courtship. Every night while Hephaestus worked, the two lovers would meet. This story is narrated by the aedo Demodocus in Homer's "Odyssey", who tells that it was the god of the sun, Helios, who discovered the lovers one night when they took too long. The god then alerted Hephaistos, who was enraged and arranged over the bed a subtle invisible metallic net, which only he himself could handle, and which had the power to immobilize even the gods. Thus he trapped the lovers on the next occasion, and then called the rest of the gods to witness the adultery, thinking to humiliate them. Some commented on Aphrodite's beauty, others that they would have gladly exchanged themselves for Ares, but all mocked them. When the couple was released, Ares fled to his native Thrace and Aphrodite went to Cyprus.
Formally, this work is dominated by the influence of the Roman-Bolognese classicism of the Carracci and their followers, one of the two great currents of the Italian Baroque, together with Caravaggio's naturalism. Thus, the figures are monumental, with idealized faces and serene and balanced gestures, in an idealized representation based on classical canons. Also the rhetoric of the gestures, theatrical and eloquent, clearly baroque, is typical of the Italian classicism of the XVII century. It is also worth mentioning the importance of the chromatic aspect, very thoughtful, intoned and balanced, centered on basic ranges around red, ochre and blue. Also the way of composing the scene, with a circular rhythm and closed on one side while opening to landscape on the other, is typical of this school of baroque classicism. However, despite the dominance of the classic, a certain influence of naturalism can be noticed, especially in the lighting aspect. Thus, although the light is natural, it is directed, focused on the main scene and leaving the rest in semi-darkness, thus differentiating the different planes of space and focusing the viewer's attention on the scene.