Jan Massys ( 1509- 1575), Venus Cythereia with the view of Genoa, 1561, Oil on Baltic oak, 130 x 156 cm, The National Museum, Stockholm
Jan Massys, a son of the influential early 16th-century Antwerp artist Quentin Massys, established his own artistic identity during the onset of the Reformation, a period marked by the beginnings of significant religious turmoil and diverse theological debates. Initially following in his father’s footsteps, Massys’s career faced a considerable challenge in 1544 when he was condemned for associating with Eligius Pruystinck’s group. This group advocated for personal exploration of faith, challenging traditional views on sin and sacraments and promoting the idea of universal salvation.
Forced into exile for nearly a decade with his brother, Massys was exposed to various artistic influences in places like Genoa and possibly Fontainebleau. Upon his return to Antwerp in 1555, he integrated these influences into his work, producing seductive, intellectually engaging figures that blended Fontainebleau’s sensuality with Mannerist fantasy and classical learning. This approach reflected Renaissance ideals that intertwine physical beauty with intellectual depth, suggesting that for Massys, focusing on sensual imagery was safer than engaging in religious painting during such contentious times.
This beautiful Venus, created in 1561 against a backdrop of Genoa, is considered one of his masterpieces. Recently Italian scholars established that it was commissioned but Genoan banker Ambrogio Di Negro, a discerning collector active in the major banking centres of Genoa and Antwerp. Venus, central in the composition, symbolises more than love, beauty and divinity but also the conception of Humanitas, at that time understood as spiritual beauty that represents purity, simplicity, and nobility of the soul, which protects humanity. Massys chose the theme that suggests the transfiguration of living beauty into ideal beauty, with the centrally placed Venus surrounded by a nearly mystical Genoese landscape, indicating that intellectual dialogue on humanistic ideas could persist even when embracing new ideas was a significant risk.
