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Venus Frigida

  • Artist: Peter Paul Rubens (Flemish, 1577-1640)
  • Date: 1614
  • Medium: Oil on panel
  • Collection: Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp, Belgium

Description

Painting depicting the goddess of love shivering in a harsh winter landscape, illustrating the classical saying, "Without Ceres (food) and Bacchus (wine), Venus (love) freezes". A desolate Venus, hunched for warmth, and a cold Cupid are shown amidst barren trees, with a satyr offering fruit but failing to warm them, symbolizing that love needs sustenance (food, drink, companionship) to flourish, not just passion.