Though the patron of this piece may be unknown, the moral lesson shown is clear, which is offered in the form of a story with Hercules at a crossroads. He must choose between Vice, the woman facing away from the viewer and clothed in bright fabrics,…
Pietro Aretino was an influential Italian author during the sixteenth century. In addition to his artistic work, however, he was a friend to countless people in power and was nicknamed “the scourge of princes” for his use of blackmail against…
Mars and Venus United by Love was painted by Paolo Veronese (Paolo Caliari) in the 1570s. Veronese was most likely commissioned by Emperor Maximilian II to create this mythological masterpiece. Before the Metropolitan Museum of Art received this…
Paolo Veronese was most likely commissioned by Emperor Maximilian II to create a painting of the Roman mythological gods Venus and Mars [1]. Born in Verona (where his name stems from) to a family of artists, Veronese studied the works of those before…