Sylvan Tryst...

Joachim Henne was a German sculptor and miniaturist about whom little is known. But this is certainly one of the liveliest depictions of Venus and Adonis (c. 1670) out there. As Cupid looks on (sicherlich!), two turtledoves play below. Adonis’s hunting dogs complain. But Adonis has discarded his spear for the arms of the goddess. See how their limbs whirl as spokes on a wheel of dizzying physicality and passion. The center of the work is the center of their fling. Their almost 3-D bodies—especially hers—seem to burst from the ivory. Physical. Erotic. Lively. That’s amore! (Alas, despite Venus’s efforts to delay Adonis, warned by a dream, he is killed by a wild boar.)