Year 1547 Artist Titian | Medium oil on canvas Created 1547 | |
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Dimensions 148 cm × 217 cm (58 in × 85 in) Location Museo del Prado, Madrid Similar Titian artwork, Other artwork | ||
Venus and Music is a 1547 painting by Titian. The painting was acquired for the Spanish royal collection in the seventeenth century and is now in the Museo del Prado in Madrid.
Despite the name, it is thought that the painting's theme is matrimonial. The woman wears a wedding ring and has none of the traditional attributes of Venus. Compared to other Venuses by Titian, she is not accompanied by a Cupid and "it is the only one in which both figures have individualised features".
Radiography reveals that Titian made alterations during the painting's execution. Originally the work was more daring; the woman laid uninhibitedly with her gaze fixed upon the musician. Probably the client or the artist thought that the arrangement was too provocative, so a lap dog was added which the women now looks towards. The woman is thus relegated to a passive role.