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Events | Arcadia Charity Talk 6: Myth, Magic & Mayhem

Two weddings & a fun riot!

For the final talk in this short series, our focus was on two mythological masterpieces from the National Gallery: Botticelli’s Venus & Mars and Titian’s Bacchus & Ariadne. The former embodies the Florentine mode of Quattrocento painting, and the latter, Venetian Cinquecento painting at its apogee. Both works reflect the cult of Humanism which coloured the Italian Renaissance as a whole, along with an appetite for the all’antica mode which appealed to an erudite elite ménage of connoisseur-collectors.

Botticelli’s Venus & Mars (National Gallery, London)

Sandro Botticelli, about 1445 - 1510 Venus and Mars about 1485 Tempera and oil on poplar, 69.2 x 173.4 cm Bought, 1874 NG915 https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/NG915

Titian’s Bacchus & Ariadne (National Gallery, London)

Titian, active about 1506; died 1576 Bacchus and Ariadne 1520-3 Oil on canvas, 176.5 x 191 cm Bought, 1826 NG35 https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/NG35

Listen to a podcast on Titian to pique your interest.

Watch a clip to learn more about Titian’s painting Bacchus & Ariadne.

Test your knowledge of another of Botticelli’s famous works, The Birth of Venus.

Read about Botticelli’s Venus & Mars in the National Gallery, London.

The talk itself:

If you missed the talk or would like to listen again, please find an audio clip below:

To donate your £5 please click here: NHS Donations