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Hi !
A new episode of "Picture It", right now,
and you are on the channel "That's Another Story".
That's Another Story.
Picture It #4 : Mars being disarmed by Venus
Today I'm going to talk about a painting
a little bit mischievous.
It is the piece of work of a famous painter
named Jacques-Louis David
who was born in 1748 and died in 1825.
He became renowned in a movement
called neoclassicism
and which is inspired by Antiquity.
So yes, I'm going to talk about Antiquity.
Yeah, it's been a while !
Last time, we were more into the Bible thing.
If you don't know what I mean, I put you a link of the previous video.
You are free to click !
Here it is !
Mars being disarmed by Venus (1824) Brussels, Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium
The painting I chose is named "Mars being disarmed by Venus".
We can see the Roman god of war, Mars,
who is armed as a warrior.
But here he is disarmed
by the really charming goddess of love and beauty.
Well, Mars and Venus are more than that,
but I'll give you more details in a mythological makeover episode.
You have to know that Mars and Venus,
even if they are brother and sister
or great-aunt and great-nephew depending on versions,
are also lovers
despite Venus is married to Vulcan
who is also either his brother or his great-nephew depending on versions.
Mythology is nice.
It has to be said Vulcan is ugly and lame,
whereas Mars is a handsome warrior
so Venus didn't really hesitate.
Here we have a seduction scene between the two divinities.
How can we recognise them ?
You are going to answer that Mars
is the only adult male of the scene, okay.
Otherwise, Mars is recognizable
because he has his complete warrior gear.
His spear, his helmet, the sword, the bow,
the shield, etc.
And he is disarmed by three naked women
who are the Graces.
In a previous video,
I told you that if you saw three naked women,
it is in theory either the judgement of Paris
or the Graces
even if there are other options.
The Graces are three divinities
who embody joy, abundance and splendour.
To sum up, fullness
so we understand their presence in this scene.
They take Mars' weapons away
and also bring beverage
which doesn't ruin anything
and even makes things easier.
It seems to be well under way
according to this one's face
who looks happy.
Mars is also undressed by Cupid,
the son of Venus
who is the god of love.
We recognise him thanks to his wings,
hiw bow and his arrows.
He takes Mars' shoes off.
Yes, it can be better.
"Love undresses War".
Venus is often depicted naked,
really often actually.
It is a good excuse for nudity
because it is mythology.
She is the goddess of love,
we have the right to represent her naked.
No, it is not obscene.
So Venus if often depicted naked
but here she is also with her animal,
a dove or a turtledove.
She has a crown as well
which is an element described in the Odyssey for instance.
It can be an attribute of Aphrodite or Venus.
She adorns Mars with flowers,
in a "relax, comfortable and cool" way,
and you may like the position of this little naughty hand.
Without anybody noticing, no ?
Actually, this dove is well situated !
In the background, you can see an antiquish setting of course
but in the clouds. So it may be in the Olympus,
the gods' home.
Well, we can imagine what is going to happen next.
Maybe Vulcan is going to appear suddenly in a fury
but it is not this moment David wanted to show us.
Here we are.
If in a painting with an antiquish setting
you see an armed god, he is probaly Mars
even if it is sometimes difficult to spot him
among the crowd of war heroes mythology has.
On the other hand, a naked goddess with doves
is undoubtedly Venus.
A little child with wings
and a bow is Cupid.
And if you see three naked women
and nobody hand them an apple,
they are most likely the three Graces.
Otherwise, it is the Judgement of Paris. But I've already talked about it.
This is the end of the video.
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