Venus and Organ Player (after Titian)
attributed to Miguel de la Cruz (fl. c.1630 - 1660)
Category
Art / Oil paintings
Date
circa 1625 - 1645
Materials
Oil on canvas
Measurements
1791 x 2229 mm (70 1/2 x 87 3/4 in)
Order this imageCollection
Ham House, Surrey
NT 1139670
Summary
Oil painting on canvas, Venus and Organ Player (after Titian), attributed to Miguel de la Cruz (active c.1630-1660), circa 1625/45. Naked Venus reclines centre right, in an open interior, the walls draped with red velvet curtains. A pipe organ to the left is played by a man. The original of about 1555 was in Philip IV's collection and is now in the Prado, Madrid. Another version of this work, also in the Prado, in which Venus is caressing a small dog and looking downwards and there is no putto was originally owned by Charles I, and was bought for Philip IV of Spain at the auction of Charles I's collection. This picture at Ham House is a copy of the former. The frame is of the 1670s.
Provenance
In 1677 inventory; in 1683 inventory (68) acquired in 1948 by HM Government when Sir Lyonel, 4th Bt (1854 – 1952) and Sir Cecil Tollemache, 5th Bt (1886 – 1969) presented Ham House to the National Trust, and entrusted to the care of the Victoria & Albert Museum, until 1990, when returned to the care of the National Trust, and to which ownership was transferred in 2002
Credit line
Ham House, The Dysart Collection (purchased by HM Government in 1948 and transferred to the National Trust in 2002)
Makers and roles
attributed to Miguel de la Cruz (fl. c.1630 - 1660), artist after Titian (Pieve di Cadore 1488/90 - Venice 1576), artist
References
Simon 2014, Jacob Simon (ed. Sarah Okpokam), Picture Frames at Ham House, National Trust, 2014