The Death of Adonis

The tale of the death of Adonis comes from Ovid's Metamorphoses and tells of the handsome youth, beloved of the goddess Venus, who died whilst out hunting boar. In creating the statue Mazzuola, a pupil of the great Baroque sculptor Bernini, worked on it for nearly 30 years. Begun in the 17th century and finished in the following century, this work embodied all the features of the late Baroque. The sculptor showed Adonis at the moment when, hit by the wild boar, he is about to fall: the rapid movement is combined with static. The cloak thrown across the youth's shoulder gives the statue calm and picturesqueness. The varied working up of the marble, from elegant polish to roughness, giving the hard bristle of the boar, reinforces the deocrative quality of the work.