Mars and Venus

Art Historical Context

This engraving captures the mythological union of Mars, the god of war, and Venus, the goddess of love, in a composition that exemplifies late sixteenth-century Mannerist elegance. Created by the renowned Dutch printmaker Hendrik Goltzius after a design by Flemish painter Bartholomaeus Spranger, the 1588 work translates Spranger’s fluid, elongated figures into the precise language of engraving. The scene likely portrays the lovers’ embrace interrupted by the consequences of their affair, a popular theme that allowed artists to explore contrasts between passion and conflict. As an engraving on...