Venus and Mercury,
oil on panel, 64.5 x 50 cm, framed

Provenance:
Private collection, The Netherlands, since the 1950s

The composition of this striking panel follows a print by Jan Harmensz. Muller (1571–1628) of circa 1600 (New Holl., 68), after a drawing by Bartholomeus Spranger (1546–1611) now in the Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Connecticut (inv. no. 1974.38). Another version, of larger measurements, dated 1601, was sold in these rooms (see sale, Dorotheum, Vienna, 9 November 2022, lot 8). The latter and the present panel are very early examples of the Prague school of painting, demonstrating all the characteristics of the mannerist taste of Emperor Rudolph II, such as the intertwined bodies and the overall sensual mood.

The date of the present panel has been confirmed by the dendrochronological analysis of the oak support by Peter Klein. As stated in his report dated 23 February 2023, the support consists of two wooden boards taken from the same tree, whereby the youngest heartwood ring dates from 1581 – allowing the earliest possible felling date to 1588 and the earliest possible creation of the painting to 1590.

Mercury and Venus as lovers is rarely depicted as a mythological subject. More common is Venus’ depiction of the love affair with Mars.