Jan Massys, *Venus Cythereia*

by Atelier Liesjes

On a white marble terrace, a naked woman lies stretched out on a dark green cloth. Her reddish-blonde hair is pinned up in a jewel-encrusted bun; around her neck hang three strands of pearls with a teardrop-shaped pendant, and golden bands encircle her arms. With her left hand she holds up a carnation; her right arm rests on a grey cushion draped with a golden-yellow fabric. A translucent veil, embroidered with gold, covers her lap and thighs. To the left stands a stone vase filled with roses, carnations and columbines; to the right, water gushes from a niche containing a statue; and on the balustrade stands a peacock beside two stone spheres. Behind the garden with its trimmed hedges lies a bay with a white town, ships and mountains beneath a heavily overcast sky. The painting is executed in the style of the so-called School of Fontainebleau, which held the long, slender figure and almond-shaped eyes to be the ideal. The objects carry symbolic meaning: pearls and flowing water refer to the goddess of love who was born from the sea; carnations were regarded as invigorating; roses as a sign of love; and the celestial sphere as the perfect embodiment of her beauty. The peacock is associated with Juno, but at the same time serves as a warning against pride and vanity. The colour palette is cool and refined: ivory white for the skin, sage green and grey-green in the garden, ochre and rust-brown in the fabrics, and lead blue in the distance. On the right, on the steps, an almost translucent couple are engaged in a courtship scene. Jan Massys (Antwerp c. 1509 – Antwerp 1575) was the son of Quinten Massijs and worked as a master in the Antwerp Guild of Saint Luke. Because of his Reformed faith, he was accused of heresy and forced into exile; he probably travelled through Italy and France, where he studied the work of the Italian masters.