Venus and Vulcan

A photograph of a drawing now in the Musée du Louvre, Paris (inv. no.3657). The authorship of the drawing, which has been attributed to Raphael or a member of his circle (Giulio Romano?), is still a matter of dispute.

The composition, engraved by Agostino Veneziano in 1530 (RCIN 951776), has been traditionally associated with a design which, according to Passavant (1860, II, p.578, under no.46), was commissioned from Raphael by Giovanni Battiferri, who wished to have it frescoed by Vincenzo da Gimignano on the façade of his house in the Vatican Borgo, Rome.

The composition is also known through a handful of works, including a small painting attributed to the School of Giulio Romano (inv. no.424) and a drawing (inv. no.3478), both of which are also housed in the Musée du Louvre, Paris. Other drawings of the same subjects also exist in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (inv. no.D.844-1886), and in the Royal Library at Windsor Castle (RCIN 990303). Ruland (1876) also lists a further drawing of this subject as being then in the collection of Mr Tiffin, London; a photograph at RCIN 851779.