Watch out for flies!

Probably the most famous lovers in the history of art: the goddess of love and the youth Adonis, symbol of beauty and vegetation. The story was passed down through Roman mythology.

Venus tenderly bends over the sleeping Adonis and gently tries to drive away a fly sitting on his shoulder with a fan so that her lover does not wake up. This fly is painted so realistically (French "trompe-l'œil" = eye illusion), so that one might think that there really is a fly sitting on the canvas. Here, the painter Palma il Giovane plays with our perception and at the same time demonstrates his artistic skill. Such optical illusions were very popular in the Baroque period.

Unfortunately, the story continues tragically: as soon as Adonis wakes up, he will go for hunting. One of the putti on the left is already blowing the hunting horn. There he will be killed by a wild boar set upon him by his rival, the jealous god of war Mars.