Venus at the Forge of Vulcan
1704
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- 205.4 × 153.7 cm
- Status
- In Museum Collection
- Collect24 Art ID
- C24-136712
Venus, the goddess of love, resplendent in a brilliant blue gown, looks down at a gold shield emblazoned with an image of Athena. Venus went to her husband Vulcan's forge and asked him to make arms for her son Aeneas. Here, the powerfully built Vulcan holds upright the shield intended for Aeneas, gestures to the armor at his feet, and looks up at his wife for her approval. In the lower left-hand corner are two Cyclopes who have made the armor under Vulcan's direction. Francesco Solimena made a series of mythological paintings for the Procurator Canale in Venice. This canvas and its pendant, *Tithonus Dazzled by the Crowning of Aurora,* may commemorate a marriage, as both pictures show gifts exchanged between goddesses and their husbands.
Provenance
The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles
Registry history
- 1704 — Recorded in the collection of J. Paul Getty Museum
Registered on Collect24
The identity of the collector is never published. Purchase information, documents and the exact location of the artwork remain private.
Ownership not yet verified on Collect24
This artwork is documented in the Global Art Registry, but no Collect24 account is linked to it as the owner. Claiming keeps this record and its Collect24 Art ID — nothing is created a second time.
Do you own or represent this artwork? Claim this artwork →Auction history
Public sale records matched to this work. Ownership is never disclosed.
Loading sale records…