James Barry, Irish, 1741-1806
Title: The Death of Adonis
Date: c.1775
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions:
100 x 126 cm
Signed: lower right: Ja.s Barry fec.t
Credit Line: Presented, Mr and Mrs R. Field, 1959
Object Number: NGI.1393
Label TextThis classical subject contrasts starkly with Barry's Temptation of Adam, exhibited four years earlier, in which the life-size characters dominate the composition. Here, smaller figures, illuminated from behind by the setting sun, serve as the focus of a compositional oval formed by trees. In the picture, Adonis, the courageous hunter, lies mortally wounded, having been bitten by a wild boar his hounds had roused from its lair. Venus, who heard his groans, has descended to the scene in her chariot, and supports Adonis's limp head on her knees.

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