Mars and Venus Surprised by Vulcan, Joachim Wtewael, 1610
painting, h 18.2cm × w 13.5cm More details
Venus, the goddess of love, had an affair with the god of war, Mars. Her husband, the lame blacksmith Vulcan, caught them and exposed the adulterous couple to a gathering of amused gods. Mercury (the flying figure in a red cap) then offered to trade places with Mars. With his rendering of exaggerated musculature and distorted bodies, Wtewael was a leading representative of Dutch Mannerism.