1485 (ca.), Sandro Botticelli, Venus and Mars -- National Gallery (London)
From the museum label: This panel was probably a spalliera painting, one which was associated with woodwork or furniture in a Florentine palace bedchamber. Mars, the god of war, is vanquished by Venus, goddess of love and beauty. The shell the satyrs use to blow into Mars' ear alludes to Venus' birth from the sea. The wasps (vespe in Italian) perhaps refer to the Vespucci family for whom Botticelli worked.
Links to high-resolution close-up photos of details from this painting are here and here.
1485 (ca.), Sandro Botticelli, Venus and Mars -- National Gallery (London)
From the museum label: This panel was probably a spalliera painting, one which was associated with woodwork or furniture in a Florentine palace bedchamber. Mars, the god of war, is vanquished by Venus, goddess of love and beauty. The shell the satyrs use to blow into Mars' ear alludes to Venus' birth from the sea. The wasps (vespe in Italian) perhaps refer to the Vespucci family for whom Botticelli worked.
Links to high-resolution close-up photos of details from this painting are here and here.