
Mars, Venus and Cupid
Gennaro Landi · 17th century
- Medium
- Brush and brown wash, over black chalk, heightened with white gouache, on ivory laid paper, laid down on ivory laid paper
- Original size
- 19.7 × 19.6 cm (7 13/16 × 7 3/4 in.)
- Currently held
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Movement
- Mannerism
Mars, Venus and Cupid brings together classical mythology's most potent trio — the god of war disarmed by love, guided by desire — in a composition of quiet tension and sensuous grace. Gennaro Landi was an Italian painter schooled in the academic tradition, and this work reflects his command of tonal draughtsmanship: the layered brown wash, black chalk underdrawing, and white gouache highlights work together to build figures that feel both monumental and intimate. The technique was prized in academic circles for its ability to model form and light simultaneously, making such drawings as much finished works as preparatory studies. There is a sculptural confidence to how Landi handles the three figures — each one distinct in character, yet bound together by the composition's careful geometry. The mythological pairing of Mars and Venus — representing the union of war and love — was among the most allegorised subjects in Western art, interpreted by painters from Botticelli to Rubens as a symbol of love's power to temper aggression. Now held in the Art Institute of Chicago, the work is a fine example of European academic draughtsmanship at its most assured. Our hand-painted oil reproduction captures its tonal warmth, sculptural presence, and the quiet authority Landi brought to one of antiquity's oldest love stories.
Hand-painted oil reproduction
Painted in real oil on stretched canvas by master copyists. Delivered unframed — ready to frame at home.
Choose a size
In Landi's style.
Send us a photograph of your family, pet, or home — we'll paint it as a custom oil on stretched canvas in any style you like. From £220.

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