Venus: Detail of the legs of Venus

Detail of the legs of Venus ; Derived from antique sculptures of the Venus pudica type and based on studies of ideal proportions, this beautiful young woman admires herself in a mirror. Gillyflowers, symbolic of loving couples, sit in a golden antique urn with rams' heads. On the steps at lower right are Cupid's bow and arrows in a quiver and the feathered helmet of Mars, suggesting that the god awaits Venus in an upstairs room for a lovers' tryst. Paintings of mythological nudes portrayed with erotic overtones are found in the inventories of Philip of Burgundy's belongings at his Wijk bij Duu... Mehr ...