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| Sandro Botticelli, "Venus and Mars" (1485) National Gallery, London. Click here for image URL |
Botticelli was one of the great masters of the Italian renaissance. Through exploring Roman Mythology, the painter produced a "bedroom furniture" with a seductive motif. Here, the lovers of distinct personalities lay after an encounter of sexual nature. Venus' husband, the Blacksmith God, Vulcan, was crippled from the hips down, and therefore unable to consumate their marriage. Hence, Venus found love with other man. The Goddess of Love stare blankly past the God of War, who sleeps profoundly while being disarmed by the little satyrs stealing his lance. Thus enhancing that "Love conquers War", or that "Love conquers All".
