"Mars and Venus playing chess" ( Italian. Marte e Venere giocano a scacchi ) - painting by Italian artist Alessandro Varotari (Padovanini). Known for the unusual interpretation of the ancient myth of the love of Mars and Venus.
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| Alessandro Varotari | ||
| Mars and Venus play chess . 1630-1640 | ||
| ital Marte e venere giocano a scacchi | ||
| Canvas, oil. 99 × 118 cm | ||
| Landesmuseum für Kunst und Kulturgeschichte Augusteum, Oldenburg , Germany | ||
The ancient myth underlying the plot of the picture
The story VIII of the song “Odyssey” by Homer is complemented by the dialogue of Lucian Samosatsky “Dream or Rooster” and “Myths” by Gigin [1] , Book IV “Metamorphosis” of Ovid [2] .
Aphrodite ( Venus ) changed her husband Hephaestus ( Vulcan ) with the god of war Ares ( Mars ). Fearing that one of the gods would see them together, Ares (Mars) told Electrion to stand guard. He ordered him to wake himself up before sunrise, since the lovers did not want Apollo to see their farewell affection [3] .
Electrion fell asleep when Apollo rode on his chariot. The sun god spotted Aphrodite (Venus) in the arms of Ares (Mars). Apollo went to Hephaestus (Vulcan), whom he told about what he had seen. Hephaestus (Vulkan) forged a thin but solid golden [4] net, which he unnoticeably attached to the foot of the bed, lowered it from the ceiling, and then announced to his wife that he was going to the island of Lemnos [5] . Aphrodite (Venus) sent for Ares (Mars), who came to her. In the morning, lovers discovered that they were entangled in a net. Hephaestus (Vulkan) and the gods invited by him appeared [2] . Ares (Mars) received his freedom thanks to Poseidon ( Neptune ), who promised Hephaestus (Vulcan) to arrange for Ares (Mars) to pay the ransom. Aphrodite (Venus) returned to Cyprus .
Ares (Mars) swore that he would take revenge on Electrion. He turned him into a rooster, forcing him to announce the appearance of the sun every morning.
The plot of the picture
In the history of art, the plot "Venus and Mars" has two main forms [6] :
- The image of the episode, when Vulcan catches lovers at the time of betrayal of his wife. An example is the painting Venus, Vulcan and Mars by Jacopo Tintoretto (1547–1551, Alte Pinakothek , Munich ). This plot is typical of French painting of the XVIII century .
- Allegory of the victory of love over the martial arts. Venus and Mars lie together on the bed. Mars usually sleeps. Cupids play with his armor. The plot is characteristic of the Renaissance. Examples of this type: Carlo Saracheni “Venus and Mars” (c. 1600, Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum , Madrid ) and “Venus, Mars and Cupid ” (1490, Piero di Cosimo , State Museums, Berlin )
The painting by Padovanin has a unique plot [7] [8] , which is an echo of both types. In the painting by Padovanino “Mars and Venus playing chess”, chess is played by Venus, the goddess of beauty, and Mars, the god of war. In the background is a picture with a jug of Vulcan wine, deceived husband of Venus. The overall construction of the picture demonstrates the original sense of humor of the artist, which served as the reason for his lifetime popularity in Venice [9] .
This picture is one of several paintings by the artist on the plot of love of these gods (among them: "Venus, Mars and Two Cupids ", "Venus and Mars, Surprise Vulcan"; in the last picture Vulcan is similar to the corresponding character of the painting "Mars and Venus play play chess").
Venus, grasping the Mars helmet with his left hand for the base of the ostrich feather sultan, hopes to disrupt him from the enemy with the next movement (some art critics suggest playing stripping, another option is possible - Venus’s impatience that is bored with chess; therefore, the goddess is in a hurry to embark on more interesting love games [9] ). Venus makes a decisive move with his right hand, bringing her victory. The monkey removes the nanozhnik from a shin of the defeated. Between the legs, a cupid sits at Venus (perhaps hinting at Venus' fiery passion for Mars). Mars is depressed, his gaze is directed at the chessboard, and with his left hand he clutches his head, trying to hold his helmet [8] .
Chess position in the picture
| a | b | c | d | e | f | g | h | ||
| eight | eight | ||||||||
| 7 | 7 | ||||||||
| 6 | 6 | ||||||||
| five | five | ||||||||
| four | four | ||||||||
| 3 | 3 | ||||||||
| 2 | 2 | ||||||||
| one | one | ||||||||
| a | b | c | d | e | f | g | h | ||
The space of the board is represented with a strong slope that distorts the proportions. The position is read quite simple. Venus transfers the queen's figure on the e1 field with two fingers (judging by the direction of the movement of Venus's hand, before the queen stood on a1 , b1 or c1 ), mating the opponent.
Notes
- ↑ Hyginus, 2000 , p. 180-181.
- ↑ 1 2 Ovid, 1977 , p. 171–189.
- ↑ Lucian of Samosata. Dream, or rooster. 3 . Library of Jacob Krotov. The appeal date is March 15, 2016. Archived March 15, 2016.
- ↑ In some embodiments, the material is different.
- ↑ Homer, 1953 , p. 275–285.
- ↑ Venus. Encyclopedia of plots in art. . The appeal date is March 15, 2016. Archived March 14, 2016.
- ↑ Leira Maiorana. Nel segno dello shâh mât (ital.) // Il Palindromo. Storie al rovescio e di frontiera. - 2011. - N. I / 4 . - P. 99-100 .
- ↑ 1 2 Giulia Masone. Alessandro Varotari. 71: Marte, Venere e Vulcano (Italian) . Iconos. The appeal date is March 15, 2016. Archived March 6, 2016.
- ↑ 1 2 Helen Deborah Walberg. Review by H. Loh of the Titan Remade: Repetition and the Transformation of the Italian Modern Art . // Renaissance Quarterly. - 2009. - Vol. 62 , no. 3 - P. 926-928 . - DOI : 10.1086 / 647419 .
Literature
- Homer . Song VIII // Odyssey. - M .: Goslitizdat , 1953. - 322 p.
- Publius Ovidi Nazon . Metamorphosis . - M .: Fiction , 1977. - 430 p. - 40 000 copies
- Valone C. Il Padovanino: a new look and a new work, in "Arte Veneta". - 1982. - Vol. XXXVI. (ital.) p. 161-177.
- Pallucchini R. Il mito classico nel Padovanino, in Scritti di storia dell'arte in onore di Roberto Salvini, Sansoni. - Firenze, 1984. (ital.) P. 483-485.
- Ruggeri U. Il Padovanino, Soncino. - Crema, 1993. (Italian)
- Hygin Guy Julius . Myths. Part II. Myths about gods; other heroic myths / A. A. Taho-Godi . - 2nd, corrected. - SPb. : Aletheia , 2000. - 480 p. - ISBN 5-89329-198-0 .