# Mars and Venus Surprised by Vulcan, Cupid and Apollo

[View the canonical artwork record](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/clerck-hendrik-de-r3ead938492ef61/mars-and-venus-surprised-by-vulcan-cupid-and-apollo-rb90d8aef6c2e83>)

## Artwork

- Artist: [CLERCK, Hendrik de](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/clerck-hendrik-de-r3ead938492ef61>)
- Date: 1601-1650
- Technique: Oil on panel, 47 x 35 cm

## Commentary

Mars and Venus Surprised by Vulcan, Cupid and Apollo 1600 Oil on panel, 47 x 35 cm Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg, Florida The mythological story of Venus and Mars surprised by Venus&#39;s husband Vulcan is a tale of passion and revenge. The beauty of Venus was irresistible: Ovid wrote in The Art of Love: &#34;Mars, stirred by mad desire for Venus, was turned from grim warrior to lover.&#34; Venus&#39;s son Cupid hovers above the couple and points his arrow at their hearts. Discovering their affair, Vulcan, god of fire and the forge, sets a trap for them, and asks the other gods to judge them.

## Related artworks

- [Abundance with the Four Elements](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/clerck-hendrik-de-r3ead938492ef61/abundance-with-the-four-elements-rbbd6e6003cbaaa>)
- [Adoration of the Magi](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/clerck-hendrik-de-r3ead938492ef61/adoration-of-the-magi-r5d9d091faef313>)
- [Adoration of the Shepherds](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/clerck-hendrik-de-r3ead938492ef61/adoration-of-the-shepherds-r64b3379a0d241c>)
- [Landscape with Diana and Acteon](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/clerck-hendrik-de-r3ead938492ef61/landscape-with-diana-and-acteon-rf9822b88e26cf2>)
- [Parnassus](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/clerck-hendrik-de-r3ead938492ef61/parnassus-r1e0fb104892e87>)
- [Susanna and the Elders](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/clerck-hendrik-de-r3ead938492ef61/susanna-and-the-elders-r01cd860bf6e692>)
- [The Banquet of Achelous](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/clerck-hendrik-de-r3ead938492ef61/the-banquet-of-achelous-r62cda9898edd27>)
- [The Contest between Apollo and Pan](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/clerck-hendrik-de-r3ead938492ef61/the-contest-between-apollo-and-pan-rce51890f09b723>)
- [The Nuptials of Thetis and Peleus](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/clerck-hendrik-de-r3ead938492ef61/the-nuptials-of-thetis-and-peleus-r76035f89050393>)
- [The Paradise and the Four Elements](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/clerck-hendrik-de-r3ead938492ef61/the-paradise-and-the-four-elements-r7f60d2ab200424>)

## Attribution

[Web Gallery of Art](<https://beta.wga.hu/pages/about>)