Venus and Mars by Botticelli - Canvas

This painting is on display in the National Gallery in London. On the left, you see the goddess Venus who is carefully watching the god Mars on the right, who is asleep. Venus and Mars are having an adulterous affair. Uncharacteristically, Mars is unarmed, and he lies on a red cloak. You can also see four fauns. Fauns are mythological figures who are half human and half goat, have small horns and tails, and they are followers of Bacchus. The fauns are blowing a Triton’s shell (a hunting horn in ancient times) like a trumpet in the ear of Mars to show that after making love even this very loud sound will not wake him up. They are also jokingly playing with the weapon of Mars (a lance), his body armour (to be precise, a cuirass; see the faun on the bottom right) and his helmet (the faun on the left). Venus is wearing a beautiful dress. On the top right you can see a swarm of wasps. Also, if you look carefully, you can see the city of Florence in the distance. See more detailed information about this work at https://www.tripimprover.com/blog/venus-and-mars-by-botticelli.