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 Duurstede residence. Gerard Geldenhouwer, Philip's court poet, praised him for commissioning artists to paint "the ever so sweet adultery of Venus with Mars." (http://www.metmuseum.org)