French School, XVIII century

French School, XVIII century.
In the style of JEAN BERAIN (1640-1711).
"Venus and Mars".
Oil on canvas.
Measurements: 75 x 180 cm; 87 x 193 cm (frame).

Venus and Mars is the generic denomination of a very treated episode in the mythological painting: the relation between the gods Venus-Aphrodite and Mars-Ares, that in some mythographers is adulterous and in others legitimate. Their pairing is highly symbolic, since each represents a very different human passion: love and war. The fruit of their relationship was Cupid-Eros, so very often he also appears with them.
Jean Bérain (Saint-Mihiel, Meuse, 1640 - Paris, January 24, 1711) was a French draughtsman, designer, painter and engraver, the main artistic force in the royal office of the "Menus-Plaisirs du Roi", where all court designs for shows, parties and funerals were made, as well as many furniture designs not covered by the "Bâtiments du Roi". Bérain's decorations, from 1699, known as the "Bérainesque" style, based on luminous arabesques and playful grotesques, initiated the "Régence style", a precursor style of the French Rococo.