Minerva Sending Away Mars from Peace and Prosperity
Dublin Core
Title
Minerva Sending Away Mars from Peace and Prosperity
Description
Jacopo Tintoretto was an Italian painter born in Venice whose art was characterized by uniqueness in composition and handling. His painting “Minerva Sending Away Mars from Peace and Prosperity” is part of a group of four extraordinary square paintings that include “Bacchus, Venus, and Adriane,” “Vulcan’s Forge,” and “Mercury and the Graces.” These four paintings were made to celebrate the successful government of Doge Girolamo Priuli. The paintings include mythological and allegorical figures that are meant to emphasize ideas of prosperity and power during Doge Girolamo Priuli’s reign. The four paintings were originally on the walls of the Atrio Quadrato in the Palazzo Ducale, but they are now arranged symmetrically in the Sala dell'Anticollegio in the Palazzo Ducale.
In “Minerva Sending Away Mars from Peace and Prosperity,” Tintoretto uses contrasting colors and mythological figures to depict his story. Minerva is seen protecting Peace (wearing an olive wreath crown) and Prosperity (who is partially appearing in the scene to fill her bowl with fruit) from Mars (God of War). As one can see, Tintoretto makes the left side of the painting that includes Minerva, Peace, and Prosperity bright by using light colors in skin, clothes, and accessories. Meanwhile, Tintoretto depicts the right side of the painting that includes Mars as dark, which can be seen through the black armor and lack of bright paint colors. The painting is showing how Minerva is shielding Venice from war in order to keep peace and prosperity in Venice.
The lightness on the left side of the painting displays the serene nature of Venice and its success. Peace and Prosperity appear to be glowing in the picture, and this glow can be associated with the thriving nature of Venice under Doge Girolamo Priuli.
In “Minerva Sending Away Mars from Peace and Prosperity,” Tintoretto uses contrasting colors and mythological figures to depict his story. Minerva is seen protecting Peace (wearing an olive wreath crown) and Prosperity (who is partially appearing in the scene to fill her bowl with fruit) from Mars (God of War). As one can see, Tintoretto makes the left side of the painting that includes Minerva, Peace, and Prosperity bright by using light colors in skin, clothes, and accessories. Meanwhile, Tintoretto depicts the right side of the painting that includes Mars as dark, which can be seen through the black armor and lack of bright paint colors. The painting is showing how Minerva is shielding Venice from war in order to keep peace and prosperity in Venice.
The lightness on the left side of the painting displays the serene nature of Venice and its success. Peace and Prosperity appear to be glowing in the picture, and this glow can be associated with the thriving nature of Venice under Doge Girolamo Priuli.
Creator
Tintoretto, Jacopo
Source
Tintoretto, Jacopo (Venetian painter, 1519-1594). Work: 1576 - 1577, Era: CE, Image: 1967. Minerva Sending Away Mars from Peace and Prosperity, Peace, Harmony and Minerva banishing Mars, general view. painting (visual works). https://library.artstor.org/asset/SS7730878_7730878_10448088.
"A Portrait by Jacopo Tintoretto." The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs 83, no. 487 (1943): 254-56. Accessed September 14, 2020. http://www.jstor.org/stable/868738.
Rearick, W. R. "Venice. Palazzo Ducale and Libreria Marciana." The Burlington Magazine 123, no. 944 (1981): 699-703. Accessed September 14, 2020. http://www.jstor.org/stable/880557.
Brooke, Caroline. "The Re-Use of Drawings in the Workshop of Jacopo Tintoretto." The Burlington Magazine 150, no. 1267 (2008): 677-80. Accessed September 14, 2020. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40479903.
Cessi, Roberto, and Denis E. Cosgrove. “Cultural Heritage: the Myth of Venice,” April 23, 2020. Accessed September 14, 2020. https://www.britannica.com/place/Venice/Cultural-heritage-the-myth-of-Venice.
"A Portrait by Jacopo Tintoretto." The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs 83, no. 487 (1943): 254-56. Accessed September 14, 2020. http://www.jstor.org/stable/868738.
Rearick, W. R. "Venice. Palazzo Ducale and Libreria Marciana." The Burlington Magazine 123, no. 944 (1981): 699-703. Accessed September 14, 2020. http://www.jstor.org/stable/880557.
Brooke, Caroline. "The Re-Use of Drawings in the Workshop of Jacopo Tintoretto." The Burlington Magazine 150, no. 1267 (2008): 677-80. Accessed September 14, 2020. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40479903.
Cessi, Roberto, and Denis E. Cosgrove. “Cultural Heritage: the Myth of Venice,” April 23, 2020. Accessed September 14, 2020. https://www.britannica.com/place/Venice/Cultural-heritage-the-myth-of-Venice.
Publisher
Doge Girolamo Priuli
Date
1576 - 1577
Contributor
Raj Kumar
Rights
© Rector and Visitors, University of Virginia
Format
Oil on Canvas, 148 x 168 cm
Type
Painting
Coverage
Sala dell’Anticollegio, Ducal Palace, Venice, Italy
Citation
Tintoretto, Jacopo , “Minerva Sending Away Mars from Peace and Prosperity,” ARTHIST 89S - Visual Culture of Venice - Fall 2020, accessed October 22, 2026, https://venice.dahvc.org/fall-2020/items/show/35.