Venus en reflection
1751 to 1775
Medium
color aquatint
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Widener Collection
Accession Number
1942.9.2383
Art Historical Context
**Venus en Reflection** Step into the enchanting world of 18th-century French art with *Venus en Reflection*, a exquisite color aquatint by-François Janinet, created after an original by Jacques Charlier between 1751 and 1775. This print captures the goddess Venus in a moment of intimate self-admiration, gazing into a mirror—a timeless motif symbolizing beauty, vanity, and the Rococo era's delight in mythological elegance and playful sensuality. Housed in the National Gallery of Art's Widener Collection (Department CG-E), it exemplifies how prints democratized high art, allowing collectors be...