How you can use this image

This image can be used for non-commercial research or private study purposes, and other UK exceptions to copyright permitted to users based in the United Kingdom under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised. Any other type of use will need to be cleared with the rights holder(s).

Review the copyright credit lines that are located underneath the image, as these indicate who manages the copyright (©) within the artwork, and the photographic rights within the image.

The collection that owns the artwork may have more information on their own website about permitted uses and image licensing options.

Review our guidance pages which explain how you can reuse images, how to credit an image and how to find images in the public domain or with a Creative Commons licence available.

Notes

Add or edit a note on this artwork that only you can see. You can find notes again by going to the ‘Notes’ section of your account.

Venus is shown naked, lying back in an interior, attended by the Three Graces (Aglaia, Euphrosyne and Thalia), the daughters of Zeus. One combs her hair, another holds Venus's right foot onto her thigh and a third ties a bracelet onto Venus's arm. Cupid stands between her legs with his bow and arrow on the floor in front of them. Another putto is seen in the background leaning in through the window and plucking flowers from a vase on the shelf inside.

The artist copied from a painting by Guido Reni and studio that was perhaps once in the collection of the Duke of Mantua. Subsequently, the work was in the Royal Collection; it was sold after the execution of Charles I and was later reinstated but presented to the National Gallery, London, by William IV.

National Trust, Stourhead

Warminster

Title

The Toilet of Venus

Date

1723–1745

Medium

oil on canvas

Measurements

H 261.5 x W 205.5 cm

Accession number

732315

Acquisition method

gift from Sir Henry Hugh Arthur Hoare along with the estate, house and its contents, 1946

Work type

Painting

National Trust, Stourhead

Stourton, Warminster, Wiltshire BA12 6QD England

This venue is open to the public. Not all artworks are on display. If you want to see a particular artwork, please contact the venue.

View venue

Artist or maker

Jeremiah Davison

c.1695–1745

View profile

Midshipman Sir Thomas Frankland Chequers Court
Bulstrode Peachey Knight (d.1735) Chawton House
Richard Cooper (1701–1764), Engraver National Galleries of Scotland: Portrait
Sackville Tufton (1688–1753), 7th Earl of Thanet Abbot Hall
Perseus and Andromeda National Trust, Stourhead
The Toilet of Venus National Trust, Stourhead
Admiral of the Fleet George Byng (1663–1733), 1st Viscount Torrington National Maritime Museum
20 more