The Death of Adonis
Paolo Veronese·c. 1558
Historical Context
The Death of Adonis at the Gardner Museum concludes the mythological cycle with Venus mourning her beloved, gored by a wild boar. The tragic conclusion of the Adonis myth was one of the most emotionally powerful subjects in classical mythology and inspired some of the finest Venetian paintings. Venus's grief for Adonis, whose blood became the anemone flower, was among the most emotionally resonant of Ovid's tales of love ended by death—a secular analogue to the Pietà that allowed Veronese to combine beauty and lamentation.
Technical Analysis
The composition captures the moment of grief with restrained pathos. Veronese's palette shifts to cooler tones appropriate to the tragic subject, while his treatment of Venus's mourning maintains characteristic dignity.
Look Closer
- ◆Notice the palette shifting to cooler tones appropriate to the tragic subject — Venus mourning Adonis gored by a wild boar at the Gardner Museum.
- ◆Look at the restrained pathos capturing the moment of grief, as Venus's blood-stained beloved becomes the anemone flower.
- ◆Observe how this concluding scene of the mythological cycle combines beauty and lamentation — a secular analogue to the Pietà.
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