Venus + mirror

Venus and Mirror from 1524 by Hans Baldung Grien depicts the goddess of love contemplating her reflection. The subject of Venus at her mirror combined classical mythology with the vanitas theme of beauty's transience, a characteristically Baldung combination of beauty and moral commentary. The 1520s were a decade of transition, marked by the deaths of Raphael and Leonardo, the shock of the Reformation, and the beginnings of Mannerist experimentation.

The nude Venus is rendered with Baldung's characteristic approach, the mirror creating a visual doubling that adds philosophical depth to the sensual subject.