Schmückung der Venus

Reni's Adornment of Venus, painted c.1608, belongs to his early mythological production during and after his first Roman period. The subject — attendants adorning the goddess of love — was a staple of the Venetian mythological tradition popularised by Titian and was taken up by Roman Baroque painters seeking subjects for aristocratic patrons. Reni's early mythological works show the influence of his Bolognese Carracci training combined with the lessons of Roman antiquity.

Venus is presented as the centrepiece of the composition, her form idealised in the classical tradition. Reni's early palette is warmer and richer than his later silver period, and the flesh tones have a sensuous warmth appropriate to the subject. Attendant figures arrange garlands and ornaments around the goddess in a shallow processional arrangement.